


Human

by JabbaJambler



Series: Myrah Koor [1]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Complete, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, Original Character(s), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 79,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27620377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JabbaJambler/pseuds/JabbaJambler
Summary: "𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘆, 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗲𝗿𝗸...𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁.""𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸-𝘂𝗽, 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵...𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿."Myrah Koor was a mystery. She worked alone and she worked hard. For a while, she was the best bounty hunter the Guild had ever seen. At least, until a certain Mandalorian came along.After a small hostage situation, the two team up to find the bounty of a lifetime. . . twice.Traveling the galaxy, the unlikely pair takes down enemies, saves the day, and makes a few friends along the way.𝗗𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻/𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘅 𝗢𝗖𝗔 (𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳) 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆I am not in association with Disney or Lucas Films. The only thing I have the rights to are my characters and their stories. There may be some alterations here and there, but overall, this follows the general plot to the first season of Disney's, The Mandalorian.As always, I would love to hear comments and recommendations. Your guys' opinions make my day (and my writing) better.Enjoy Human! :)
Relationships: Din Djarin & Original Character(s), Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You
Series: Myrah Koor [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153454
Comments: 9
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

# 0

* * *

"I think it's time I return this."

The room was dim and empty except for the two women. One clad in armor and fur while the other stood in nothing more than a loose shirt, pants, and a pair of worn boots. 

A fire crackled in the center of the large room. It was a soft, comforting sound that seeped through the chatter that filled the cavern. The smell of melted beskar in the large furnace masked the horrid stench of mold and something rotten. 

It was the first time Myrah fully embraced these surroundings. She let the environment spill and flourish around her, filling her senses till she was dizzy.

"Myrah... You-" 

"I know." The bare woman interjected, staring down at the red helmet in the others gloved hands. "I've betrayed the clan. You've been nothing but gracious and welcoming yet I tossed your traditions in the garbage."

"Not at all." She spoke calmly. "We are glad you're safe."

A relieved breath escaped Myrah while the corners of her mouth quirked into a grateful smile. "Vor entye." She whispered.

"Ba'gedet'ye. This is the Way."

"This is the Way." 

Myrah spun and left the drab sewers, the helmets of every Mandalorian following her as she left. Everything she had known for the four years would remain down there. It was time to restart once again.

The bright sun peered into her eyes once she reached the clear and somewhat clean air, forcing her to squint. She held her hand over her eyes in an attempt to block the beaming rays while she glanced about the gray planet. 

Nevarro was a relatively peaceful place. Even during the Galactic Empire's control, there was never too much chaos. 

Much like her armored friends, its beauty was concealed by the desolate, gray appearance.

Weather was never awful, only a bit hazy when there was a nearby eruption. Of course, it was always foggy, but it usually covered up the blazing sun and kept a nice breeze through the volcanic terrain. 

The people were sort of friendly. Everyone stuck to themselves and their family, never caring to be involved in someone else's business. 

They had plenty of their own problems to deal with. 

Most everyone was poor and did what they could to survive. Somehow, they found their own ways to enjoy life. For some, they found their happiness hunting for the bounty guild that resided on Nevarro. 

Myrah tugged her hood over her head, keeping it low as she navigated through the crowded streets and alleys. Her dark brown hair managed to escape the low bun at the base of her neck, swarming her face and sticking to her damp skin. 

She did a good job of hiding herself. To her, it was exhilarating to be free and have no one know who you are or where you're from. 

She was young. Only twenty-three years old but her glimmering brown eyes told stories of tragedy, loss, and pain. 

Being on the run was hard. She was always watching her back since she had no one else to do it for her. Even in the clan, they only looked after one another to a certain extent. Even if she had a partner, who knows if she could trust them. 

Myrah was constantly on edge, glancing over her shoulder every other second. Someone always seemed to be hot on her trail no matter how much she hid. Even with a helmet and no sense of identity, there was a continuous game of cat and mouse.

Now that the Empire was gone, she didn't have to hide anymore. Even so, she never let her guard down. 

Citizens of the planet stared at her while she walked past. She was quite an intriguing sight, not to mention a complete stranger to their lingering eyes. 

Despite the diverse population, humans never tended to congregate on Nevarro. Those who did choose to live on the poverty-stricken planet were nothing like the woman that stood before them. 

Myrah had this spark to her that no one could not quite comprehend. She radiated a rare, bright energy. A warm aura surrounded her and the people either loved it or hated it entirely. 

She found herself at the entrance to a tucked away, quaint bar. She'd heard rumors about the people who gathered there. Each whisper drew her closer to it, desperately wanting to find out if what they said was true. 

A local hangout to some, but to bounty hunters it was so much more. People of all kinds crowded the area, making back-alley deals and exchanging goods. Most importantly, the local bounty guild conducted business in the bar. _That_ was what fascinated Myrah.

After a few moments of hesitation, she pushed through the door to reveal the dark room. She was shocked to find the space filled with aliens and humans alike, all talking and laughing with one another. 

The clinking of glasses and the loud, joyous music filled her ears. It was obvious with her tense, strict posture that she was a bit overwhelmed. The place was nothing she expected. If it was indeed home to the Guild, they were all awfully friendly for a bunch of ruthless hunters.

"Ah! A newcomer!" A voice boomed from the back of the bar. Her eyes darted in the voice's direction, hiding behind the shadows of her hood. A dark skinned man sat in a booth and raised a half-empty glass in her direction. "Come sit!" He beckoned.

Myrah glanced around once more before she obliged to his request. She sat across from him, watching as the people continued carrying on their conversations. No one even stopped to see who the man was talking to. They were all stuck in their own world.

"I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Greef." His voice was deep and powerful. "What's your name, Kid?"

"Myrah. Koor." She spoke softly.

"Well, Myrah. What brings you to Nevarro?"

"A getaway."

"And just what are you hiding from?" He laughed. Even his laugh was jolly and filled the room with the rich sound. "Can't imagine someone so young getting in so much trouble that they can't show their face."

He gestured towards the hood that hid herself from any onlookers. The irony of his words brought a small smile to her lips.

"I'm afraid I can't disclose any more information."

He hummed. "Then perhaps I can offer you a job." He leaned forward with his arms crossed on the table. It was then that Myrah noticed the Guild symbol that decorated his chest. 

"What is it?" Myrah perked up, her cold stare meeting his.

"I run the bounty guild around these parts." He spoke in a low whisper. "I can make sure you're safe while you're working with me."

"I need a place to stay."

"You can stay with me!" He bellowed. "There's no reason a kid should be sleeping on the streets. Come with me." He slid out of the booth and walked towards the door. He looked behind him to see that she was still sitting in her spot, blankly staring at the seat across from her. "Are you coming?"

Myrah hesitated, but nodded and followed after him. Her hand rested loosely at her side, fingers draping over the gray and gold hilt on her belt. It was dangerous to accept an offer from a stranger, but she was out of ideas. 

Besides, maybe this is the beginning of something new and exciting; a fresh start.

┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉

**Mando'a Translations**

_Vor entye_ \- Thank you 

_Ba'gedet'ye_ \- You're welcome


	2. Chapter 2

# 1

* * *

"I can't believe you would do this! This is the best opportunity you've had in _years_."

Greef stood proudly with his hands on his hips while I shouted at him. To him, it was the same as any other quarrel we had. I would get angry, he would stay calm, and we'd be over it within an hour. 

This time was different. My anger built and bubbled inside of me, bringing my blood to a violent boil. This was the best opportunity the Guild had received in years and I figured I would be first in line for the position.

I guess I was wrong. 

"Myrah," he spoke calmly, "you and I both know that he is qualified enough for this bounty. Hell, he just might be the best. He will be fine."

Yes, the man was a great hunter, but he was far from the best. I deserved this opportunity. I spent the last five years proving myself and I was more than capable of it.

"I don't particularly care for his well-being, Greef. You and I both know that I can handle that bounty. Why did you hand it off to some tin-man?"

I could feel my nails pressing into the skin of my palms, no doubt leaving small crescent shaped indentions in my skin. My face grew red and warm as I fumed. If I was any angrier, I'm sure steam would have burst from my ears. 

"I am just as qualified as your precious _Mandalorian_ if not more so. I have been working with you for _five years_ and have gotten nothing but petty missions. Don't you think I deserve a high commission bounty?"

Greef sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose as he always does when he's frustrated. I couldn't understand how _he_ was upset when I was the one getting cheated out of an assignment.

"Myrah, I can't favor you over the others. Don't you understand?"

"It's not favoring if I deserve it."

He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him in his relaxed, deep brown eyes. "I think you need to go blow off some steam." 

I huffed a forced laugh. "Find a stick and stuff it."

"Myrah!" He scolded and reached for me as I shrugged his hands off of me. 

I spun on my heel and left the place I had learned to call a home, allowing the door to slam behind me without another word. I stomped through the streets, angrily mumbling each of the pathetic excuses that Greef had given me. 

It was an abnormally chilly day, which helped me cool off from my blow up. Even with the light jacket that I had tossed on, the breeze swept through and brought goosebumps to my skin. 

The sight of the gray planet made me frown. What once was a peaceful, neutral place had become incredibly depressing. There was no color to anyone's life, not even a speck of joy. How could someone live in a place that does nothing but make you sad?

As if the galaxy was trying to test my limits, someone walked past me like they were on a high-stakes mission. Their shoulder roughly hit mine as they went, sending a sharp pain through my arm. 

"Watch where you're going!" I snapped. 

They turned around and revealed the shiny helmet that I immediately recognized as one of the Mandalorians. Not just any, however, oh no. Each helm was specifically crafted for each individual and that one just so happened to belong to the one person Greef believed could handle the mission of a lifetime. 

The Mandalorian simply turned back around and continued walking down the path. A part of me wanted to run after him and knock some sense into his hollow skull, but then it hit me.

His ship was left unattended.

Most Mandalorians traveled alone and I assumed he was no exception. Well, he certainly didn't seem the family type at least. This was the perfect opportunity for revenge.

As a child, I was always told that revenge was a fancy word for hate. Now, hate wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it led people down a dark path if you let it fester for too long. More than anything, we were taught to be compassionate.

But that could wait a few hours.

The corners of my mouth tugged into a smug grin. If Greef wasn't going to give me the task, then I supposed I would have to take it. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

I began my stroll towards the landing area right outside of the town entrance. It was the most convenient spot unless you were dealing with some shady business. 

People typically left their ships unlocked and unattended, which worked great for me. It wasn't common for citizens of Nevarro to try to steal a ship or...sneak onboard. 

Greef told me stories of the Mandalorian's ship, the Razor Crest. Ever since he joined the Guild, he was always the topic of conversation. He gawked over everything he did, but he especially loved the man's ship. Seeing it up close, I have to admit that it's quite a beauty.

I didn't expect for him to own such a large ship considering he lives alone, but if you spend enough time in a space, I'm sure the extra room is nice. 

Despite it's beaten up, slightly miserable appearance, it held some sort of attractive quality. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was drawn to the ship. 

The ship was created before the Empire which meant that the rust-bucket of a ship was older than me. Why anyone would waste their time with such a ship was beyond me. I couldn't even begin to imagine the repair costs on this thing. 

The button for the ramp wasn't too hard to find. It was a bit loud, creaking as I closed it from the inside. Luckily, no one was around to arouse any suspicion. 

There were wires strung about the ceiling. They twisted and frayed, leaving the ship less than appealing. It was so dark and dingy, it was almost as depressing as Nevarro. How the Mandalorian spent so much of his time in here, I had no idea.

I suppose I was wrong when I assumed he took better care of his ship. 

I gave myself a quick tour of the ship, finding each room to be even more dull than the last. There was a small living space of sorts in the belly of the ship. It held a small cot, a washroom, and several cabinets that I'm sure held an abundance of weapons. 

I like to consider myself a rather sneaky person. After spending years of hiding from the Empire, I've discovered quite a few ways to go under the radar. I doubt that Mando will even know that I'm here. I mean, he has no reason to suspect any stowaways on board. 

I hid in the escape pod across from the cockpit with my blaster held tight in my hand. As much as I wanted to continue exploring, especially those locked up closets, I couldn't. I couldn't take any risks while I was down here, all I could do was sit. 

So, I waited.

And waited.

And waited. 

After nearly two hours of sitting, the soft hiss of the ramp filled the silence of the ship. I was beginning to think he was dead.

Well, some can only hope.

I pulled my hood over my head and tugged my maroon scarf over the lower half of my face. It was a mediocre disguise, but it worked in situations like these. Being a bounty hunter, these situations tended to happen a lot. 

I didn't want the Mandalorian to recognize me either. Most of the Guild members were aware of my relationship with Greef and how I've become his adopted daughter of sorts. One look at me and he would be calling for Greef to pick me up like some runaway child. 

My nerves grew as I neared the cockpit. Mandalorians are incredibly well trained and disciplined, perhaps even more so than the Jedi once were. He must've been fighting since he was a child, probably came out of the womb with a blaster in his hand. The only way I could win is with the element of surprise. 

He sat peacefully and unknowingly in the pilot's seat, taking his time to start up the ship. I had to move before he started the engines or else this would get very messy very fast. 

My fingers tightened around the handle of my blaster as I raised it and pressed it into the back of his neck. Mandalorians have very few places on their body that are not covered with armor and the neck just so happens to be one of those unlucky spots. 

"I won't hurt you." I spoke. "Just give me the tracking fob."

I was shocked that my voice didn't crack. My hands were steady no matter how much I could feel them tremble.

He was silent as he inched his hand towards the blaster on his hip. Apparently, he didn't think I would notice. That was a foolish move on his part.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I threatened and pulled back the safety on the gun.

He stood faster than I expected with his weapon drawn. I moved and grabbed the barrel of the blaster just as he grabbed mine, both of us ending with the other's gun.

"This doesn't have to get ugly." Mando spoke surprisingly calm with a muffled but smooth voice.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. 'This doesn't have to get ugly' my ass. 

"It already has."

I brought my foot up and forced it down on his knee. He faltered slightly, giving me an opportunity to grasp his shoulders and pull my knee into his stomach.

That was a mistake. 

He dropped my blaster and grabbed my leg, forcing me to lose my balance. I fell to the ground, but not before grabbing his chest plate and pulling him to the floor with me.

We both managed to clamber back to our feet, staring at each other from opposite sides of the small room. I pulled out his blaster and fired poor shot, giving him a chance to duck under my arm. 

I expected that. It was a mediocre shot, I've done much better. 

What I didn't expect was for him to shove me into the wall and press his arm against my chest. He tried to grab the gun while he held me in place, but I continued to struggle and keep it just out of his reach. 

Pressing my back firmly against the wall, I was able to lift my feet and kick him back into the control panel. I tossed his blaster on the ground and swung my leg against his, knocking him to the floor.

I opened my mouth to speak as I stood over him, but was rudely interrupted by him pulling me to the ground next to him. 

A grunt escaped my mouth as my head hit the floor. My scarf fell from my face and gathered around my neck while I pulled myself to my knees, my fingers barely brushing against the engraved hilt on my hip. 

I pulled it off of its clip, but he beat me to the attack, tackling me to the ground. 

Mando had me pinned to the cold floor with my hands held above my head. I squirmed and held on tightly to the handle in my grasp as he tried to tear it from me.

But then he stopped. 

His gaze scanned over my face. At least, that's what I assumed he was doing. With the tinted glass, I couldn't see any hint of humanity lying behind the cold stare. Nevertheless, he was distracted. 

I was able to knock him off of me and onto his back while I rolled over his body. My knees pressed down on his hips to keep him from moving while I grasped his wrists in my hand. It was a struggle, but I managed. 

"You put up a good fight, Mando." I chuckled with a wicked smirk on my face. 

I was out of breath. Well, we both were. Our chests heaved in sync, starting to slow with the lack of action. I could feel a small bead of sweat roll down my forehead as I leaned my face down towards his.

"Greef was right about you. What a shame." 

I raised the hilt and knocked it against the side of the helmet, stilling him on the ground and sending an echoed ring through the ship. Not dead, just unconscious. 

Either way, the bounty was mine. 


	3. Chapter 3

# 2

* * *

"Mmm..." Mando groaned, his eyes slowly starting to open as he came to his senses. His head was pulsing, sending aching pains through his body. He struggled to lift his head to glance out the window, watching as the ship shot through the night.

The starry sky was a stark contrast to the discomfort he currently felt. It was peaceful and put him at ease. He had forgotten how truly beautiful space is. It wasn't often when he could sit back and enjoy the alluring view, but it was more infatuating now than he could ever remember.

At first, he thought he had fallen asleep while navigating the ship. Working solo left him very few opportunities to get a few minutes of rest. It wasn't uncommon for his body to shut down and force him to sleep. 

This was not the case. 

When he finally looked away from the window, he found a young woman sitting in _his_ chair in front of the control panel. He tried to stand but he couldn't move. His hands and feet were tied to the chair with a thin rope that dug into his skin through his clothing. 

Mando struggled against the restraints, creating quite the ruckus as he did so. The noise carried through the cockpit, catching the attention of Myrah in the pilots seat. She spun around in the chair, her bright brown eyes widening before she set the ship on auto-pilot. 

"You've woken up." She spoke blankly. 

"Who are you?" He grumbled, feeling dizzy as he tried to piece together who she was. 

"I'm taking over the mission for you. That's all you need to know." A small, sadistic grin stretched across her lips as she held up the tracking fob she stole from him. "The ship is already set for Arvala-7. I'll fetch the asset and be back in no time. Don't worry, though. I'm not going to _kill_ you or anything."

"How kind." He looked up to find her gaze raking over him like a predator would its prey. "Myrah." He whispered as everything began to click into place. "That's your name, isn't it?"

"Congratulations, you remembered someone's name. Would you like a gold star?" 

She clapped her hands together and rolled her eyes, leaning nonchalantly against the cold wall. In any other scenario, the Mandalorian would have found her sarcasm rather amusing.

Now it was just annoying.

"Let me go." He demanded.

"Well, since you asked so nicely, of course I'll untie you! While I'm at it, how about I hand you the rope and we can switch places."

Her smile dropped and the bright look in her eyes dulled. She held no fear. Instead, she challenged him to speak again, knowing that she could take him out no problem. The thought sent an uneasy shiver down Mando's spine. 

"I'm not going to let you go, I would be an idiot if I did. I deserved this bounty and therefore I am collecting this bounty. Now be quiet and look pretty." She smiled and bounced her hand on the top of his helmet. "I have something more important to take care of."

She sat down in the chair and continued to navigate the ship through the abyss of space in silence. Mando was left alone to his thoughts, trying to figure out some way to escape. 

And hopefully without a fight. 

He couldn't kill her, or hurt her for that matter. Greef would never let him come back if anything happened to her while he was around and Mando was well aware of that. It seemed as though he was only left with one option: using his words.

He was never good with those. 

* * *

Myrah landed the ship on the planet with ease and care, much to the Mandalorian's surprise. It was impeccably smooth and though he didn't want to admit it, he was impressed. The Razor Crest was a large ship which made it more difficult to control. It took skill and patience and time.

He didn't think Myrah had any of those. 

Myrah rose from the seat and cast him a confident smile. "Now, be a good boy and stay here."

She stood at the top of the ladder and patted down her weapons, making sure everything was in its proper place. Her fingers lingered on the engraved hilt on her hip, tracing over the curves of the golden indentions before moving onto her blaster. 

"Wait."

The Mandalorian's desperate voice halted Myrah in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder with an inquisitive hum. Her shiny eyes met his beneath his helmet, catching his breath in his throat as he forced himself to speak.

"I have a proposition."

"Oh, boy. Here we go." She sighed and crossed her arms.

"Let me go and we can both go looking for the bounty." Mando explained. Myrah opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by his continuation. "We'll split the profits and you can take all the credit. Deal?"

"How do I know if I can trust you?"

"You can't."

Her finger tapped softly against her lips as she pondered the proposal. "Then I have a few things I want to add." 

"Go ahead." He encouraged her to speak, unwilling to sit in the unbearable silence any longer. 

"You _have_ to be where I can see you at all times." She poked his chest, causing his eyes to dart to her hand. "You're not getting away that easily, Mando. You tell Greef that I did an amazing job with this _and_ that I deserve more like it."

"That's all?"

"What? Do you want me to put you on a leash or something?" Her eyes shifted over him with an amused tone laced in her words. "Maybe you can buy me a drink when we get back."

"You want me to buy you a drink?" A look of confusion erupted onto his face, hidden behind the mask but evident in his words. 

"That's what I said, isn't it?" 

Myrah grabbed a small knife from her belt and tossed it in her hand before slicing it through the ropes that held Mando to the chair. His hands grasped his burning wrists, bruised from the rope digging into his skin. He knew the pain would subside soon, but the mark would remain for days. 

The Mandalorian looked up to find a hand held out towards him, leading back to the deranged woman he was now stuck with. He stared at it quizzically with his head tilted at the sight.

"What?" Myrah asked with her face scrunching up. "Don't we have a deal?"

He sighed and pushed himself from the seat, clasping his gloved hand with hers as they shook.

"We have a deal."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

She sent him a quick wink as she descended down the ladder. He continued to stand there for another moment, left entirely dumbfounded. Before now, he knew the girl that Greef spoke of was a fellow hunter, but he never mentioned that she matched his abilities. 

That was something he struggled to wrap his brain around. 

He finally climbed down and followed her to the back ramp of the ship. The panels creaked with every step from his heavy boots while Myrah moved in silence. Silent like a snake with the confidence of a Dire-Cat. She moved with thoughtful expertise and it frightened the Mandalorian. 

"Ever thought about taking care of your ship?" Myrah joked. "Looks like she's due for a few upgrades."

Mando shook his head and moved his leather-covered fingers over the button to lower the ramp. It came down with a sharp hiss and a couple of squeaks, but eventually touched the ground. He waved his arm in a gesture for her to walk down the ramp but received only a pained laugh in response.

"You think I'm going first?" She laughed again. "Didn't we _just_ say that I need to keep you in my sights at all times? Get walking, buddy."

He began cautiously moving down the rackety platform with his ambien rifle in hand. Myrah followed after him, holding the beeping tracking fob that assured them they were on the right planet. 

It was eerily quiet on the desert planet. The cruel, scorching sun beat down on them mercilessly without even a soft breeze to ease the heat. It was sort of beautiful, though. In the same odd way that Myrah once found Nevarro to be undeniably gorgeous.

The orange hills rolled down across the plains while the sun painted the dessert with shades of yellow. Despite being on an intense mission, the two felt a sense of peace and tranquility wash over them.

With the tranquility, however, there was loneliness.

Myrah missed her home. Not Nevarro, not at all. She missed her family that she had run from for nine years. After the fall of the Empire, she almost thought it would be safe to pay them a visit again, but she was scared. She didn't know if they were still alive or if they would want to see her again.

She feared the Empire despite it's destruction. It was supposed to be gone and for most, they tried to forget it entirely. Still, Myrah knew there were sympathizers who remained loyal to the corruptive force's beliefs.

A gentle breeze rolled through, disrupting the silence of the planet with its whistle. It grabbed the piles of sand, sticking the grains to Myrah's skin. She tried to brush it off, but the heat left a sheen of sweat that kept the sand in place. 

"Hey, Mando?" She gently tapped the Mandalorian's arm as he gazed through the scope of the gun. 

"Not now-"

The roar of a Blurrg interrupted him. Its furious face grew in his sight as it charged at him. Before he could react, it grabbed his arm firmly in its mouth. Mando instinctively ignited the flame thrower within his vambrace, trying to use it against the large animal while it lifted him off the ground. 

The Mandalorian grunted as it threw and swung him around. "Do something!" He shouted.

"I don't know." Myrah shrugged. "This is kind of entertaining." 

She sat criss-cross on the ramp, watching as the action unfolded. Her hand reached for the hilt at her belt, expanding it into a metal staff that shot from both ends of the handle with the press of a button.

Mando stood and hit the animal's head while trying to pull his arm from its jaws. He landed a hit against the creature's eye, finally releasing himself from the beast. 

"Mando! Look out!"

He turned to Myrah, confused by her sudden exclamation when the animal ran at him again, grabbing his other arm in its mouth. Just as it began to drag him, the animal was shocked and fell to the ground unconscious with a dart sticking out of its side. 

The Mandalorian groaned as he tried to pry his arm from the blurrg. Myrah rolled her eyes and hopped down to join him, struggling to force open the animal's jaws to help free him.

"You know, next time it would be easier if you just listened to me."

" _Next time_ , you should help." He grunted.

Both of their heads lifted at the sound of the familiar growl. They saw another blurrg starting to charge at the two of them once again. Mando held up with free arm while Myrah worked faster to open the creature's mouth. 

Again, out of nowhere, that blurrg was shocked and fell to the ground as well. 

They both let out a drawn out sigh and managed to free the Mandalorian's hand. When they finally looked up, they found an Ugnaught, riding on the back of a blurrg. He held a gun in his hand, one that the two assumed was used to fire the darts.

"Thank you." The Mandalorian spoke quietly as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yeah, thanks." Myrah added.

The Ugnaught nodded his head as he eyed the two. "You are bounty hunters."

"Yes." Mando grunted.

"I will help you... I have spoken." 

He tapped the side of the blurrg with his foot, turning it around. Mando continued to catch his breath as they sat on the ground, confused yet relieved that they didn't die already. 

"I have spoken." Myrah repeated and pulled herself to her feet. "What does that even mean?"

Mando shook his head and pushed himself off the ground with a quiet grunt. Myrah stood in front of him, holding the rifle that was tossed from his hand during the conundrum.

"Think we should follow him?" She asked, using her hand to shield her eyes from the light that bounced off the man's helmet. 

He snatched the rifle from her hands and connected it to its locks on his back. "He doesn't look dangerous."

"Looks can be deceiving."

Mando scoffed and studied her with a tilt of his head. "Clearly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Myrah snapped while he brushed past her. "Mando! Should've just let the damn thing eat him." 


	4. Chapter 4

# 3

* * *

The golden sun was beginning to set behind the rolling hills of Arvala-7, causing the sky to turn all shades of purple and pink. It was a beautiful sight, for sure. I couldn't help but wonder why there were so few inhabitants of the planet. 

I suppose I always had a fascination for these sorts of things, you know? Bits and pieces of beauty even in the most horrendous times.

I was beginning to fall in love with the deserted planet. Granted, we had only been here a few hours, but it was beautiful nonetheless. There was no one to bother you, no distractions or problems to run from. You only had yourself.

Which also made it very lonely. 

Mando and I had joined the Ugnaught in his small, strange home. It was dark and we had to crouch or sit the entire time to avoid hitting our heads on the low ceilings. 

Mando sat by a small lamp that cast a dim light through the home. The shadows emphasized the well-sculpted curves of his helm and left a vague outline of his face through the tinted visor. He was distracted by his wrecked vambrace, completely unaware of my staring from across the room. 

I stuck by the entrance to watch the pastel sky. The serenity of the planet tempted me to stay, but I would just be running away once again. 

The Ugnaught entered his home, paying no mind to me while he turned to talk to the Mandalorian. "Many have passed through. They seek the same one as you two."

"Did you help them?" The Mandalorian's muffled voice cut through the air. 

Now that I had time to sit back and listen to him, his voice was somewhat enchanting. It was a tenor sort of voice and despite the modulator's muffling, it sounded smooth and relaxing.

It wasn't what I expected from a man of his reputation, but at the same time, I wasn't sure what I expected. He held this aura of confidence, even after being beat down to his lowest point. It was admirable. 

Honestly, I was kind of jealous. 

"Yes... They died." 

I scoffed and began walking towards the two, my arms folded across my chest. "Well, then, I'm not sure we really want your help." I spat. 

"You do." He put a hand on my shoulder, patting it comfortingly and pulling me down to the seat across from Mando. His subtle arrogance was rather irritating. "I can show you to the encampment." He stood before the Mandalorian, his hands on his hips.

"What's your cut?" Mando spoke, staring down at his crushed vambrace. 

His armor was worn and sort of gross, I hadn't noticed it before. Most Mandalorians were kept pristine and up-to-date. His armor was kind of ugly. 

"Half."

I choked a bit on the air in my lungs. "Half the bounty just to guide? Are you insane?" I watched as he pulled up a little puff seat next to me. 

"No. Half of the blurrg you helped capture."

"The blurrg?" I questioned.

"You can keep them both."

"No. You will need one... To ride. The way is impossible to pass without a blurrg mount."

"I don't know how to ride a blurrg and I doubt she does either."

"Don't speak for me." I snapped. I didn't necessarily want to be on Mando's bad side, but I didn't have a choice after I held him hostage. 

"I have spoken."

The Mandalorian sighed and stood up, walking outside of the house. I quickly moved to run after him, refusing to let him out of my sight, but was pulled back by a small hand on my arm. 

"You are welcome to stay the night here if you two would like."

I stared down at the Ugnaught with wide eyes. He had been friendly the entire time, I suppose I hadn't expected it to continue with our coldness towards him. I offered a small but friendly smile and nodded my head. It would be nice to rest for a few hours. 

"We would appreciate that."

"Then I'll prepare something for my guests." He stood, making his way towards a small kitchen. I opened my mouth to stop him, to refuse his generous hospitality. "Go talk to your Mandalorian...I have spoken."

I took a deep breath and turned, walking out the door to follow Mando. He kept looking around, his fists clenched and shoulders slouched. He looked so tense, I thought he just might burst from the seams. 

"Someone on this planet has to have a speeder or something." He growled and looked around, seeing nothing but sand for as far as the eye could see.

"Yeah and it'll take you two days just to find someone else." I rolled my eyes and stepped towards him. "We have no choice. You might as well relax." I placed my hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and pull away at the sudden touch. "Take a breather and get some rest. I promise I won't try to kill you in your sleep."

He looked over at me and let out a quiet sigh. He must have known that I was right. 

"Why did you do it?"

I felt my eyebrows furrow together as I stared at him. "What do you mean? That's a pretty vague question, obviously you need to add some details to it." 

"Why did you attack me on my ship? You can do anything you want, any mission, task, reward. Greef would do anything for you."

"Except give me this mission. Listen, I'm not simply handed things because I live under his roof, okay? I have to work for what I get..." I paused. If I continued this any longer, I would have been talking for hours. "Go get some rest. He offered to let us sleep in his home and I think we should take it... No funny business though, okay? If I wake up with a blaster to my face, there's going to be hell to pay."

"Don't worry. I think I've learned better than to cross you." He teased with a whisper of sarcasm filling his voice.

The Ugnaught had made us a small meal, something I don't think either one of us had enjoyed in a long time. He even showed Mando to a separate room so he could eat in privacy. It wasn't long until we were all asleep. 

Tomorrow was going to be a very long day and the rest was absolutely needed. If our encounter with the blurrg tomorrow is anything like the one today, we had a big storm coming.

* * *

I laughed. I laughed until it was painful to breathe.

I know I shouldn't have, but it was so funny to see him thrown off the back of the blurrg for the _fifth time_ that afternoon. My stomach was aching from laughing so hard. It was difficult to believe that the 'cold, merciless Mandalorian' was so easily tossed around by a harmless animal. 

Well, sort of harmless.

"Perhaps if you removed your helmet." The Ugnaught joked, knowing that he wasn't capable of doing such.

" _Perhaps_ he remembers I tried to roast him." Mando snapped back. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Especially the word, ' _tried_.'

"This is a female. The males are all eaten during mating." 

The Ugnaught was just as quick witted as us. I liked him. I couldn't help but wonder if he had a name. I mean, I'm sure he does. Just like Mando's name can't _actually_ be 'Mando.' I'm sure his name isn't actually 'Ugnaught.'

The blurrg stood in front of the Mandalorian, watching as he pushed himself up from the ground with a grunt. 

Geez, how old was this guy? Seventy? I thought at most he was thirty. A seventy year-old would make for a very poor Mandalorian. 

She growled at him when he set his hand on her back, throwing himself on top of her. She roared and began thrashing around, trying to throw the yelping Mando off of her. With a few spins, he was finally knocked off once again.

Mando had quickly jumped to his feet, his hands raised high in surrender. For a second, I thought I could see him trembling in his boots. 

"We don't have time for this." He began stomping towards us. "Do you have a Landspeeder or Speeder bikes that I could hire?"

"You are a Mandalorian!" The Ugnaught exclaimed. "Your ancestors rode the great Mythosaur. Surely you can ride this young foal."

He turned to look at the blurrg, causing it to growl back at him. I couldn't stand to sit around and watch this any longer. It was almost painful. I rolled my eyes and stepped through the fence, taking the Mandalorian's hand in mine. 

"Come on." 

I pulled him towards the animal that stared back at him with a menacing glare. My fingers drifted up, brushing against the skin of his wrist as I held his hand out. He tensed up next to me, trying to rip his hand from my grasp. 

"Easy now, okay?"

"Easy... Easy." He repeated my words as he relaxed. 

A small smile played at the corners of my mouth, suddenly feeling a bit shy in his presence. I shouldn't have, I had the advantage, but there was just... something. Maybe it was the delicacy he spoke with to the animal, it was such a drastic change from his usual tone.

The blurrg growled again, forcing Mando to take a small step back. I was quick to grasp his arm, pushing him towards the creature once again. 

"Be gentle with it." I leaned up towards his helmet, whispering.

Taking another step forward, I led his hand to rest on top of the blurrg's head with my hand laying on his with a soft pressure. 

I expected him to be consoling the animal, relating to it and finding peace with it. When I looked up, I found him staring down at me. I know I can't really see his face or expressions but he seemed different. It was a sort of soft, curious gaze. 

At least it felt that way. 

"What? Don't you have an animal to tame?" I quickly stepped back towards the fence, leaving him with the blurrg.

He watched me leave before he hopped on the animal's back with surprising ease. She allowed him to lead her around and take control. The sun was beginning to set again and the Mandolorian took that as a signal to end his training.

"Good. Very good. We'll leave in the morning." I opened my mouth to protest, but was quickly stopped by him holding up his hand. "I have spoken." The Ugnaught left for his home, presumably heading to sleep.

"Thank you." I heard Mando's raspy voice behind me. 

I spun around to meet him, but that might have been a mistake. Maybe I spun too fast or maybe I was shocked he was so close, but I stumbled back only to be caught by his hands grasping my arms.

"Oh. Right. Don't worry about it." I shrugged off his hands, wrapping my arms around myself. "You were just too pitiful not to help. Honestly, that was sad. I thought hunters and fighters like you were supposed to be better educated."

"I thought girls were supposed to have less bite in their bark." I could detect a smug grin behind his mask. 

"Most girls haven't had to deal with you. If they had, they would grow tired of your stupidity as well."

"You've spent one day with me."

"One day too many."

I spun on my heel, swiftly making my way back to the Ugnaught's hut. Something about the Mandalorian made me feel small and shy. Not in a bad way, don't get me wrong. It made me mad, though. I don't like not understanding things. 

Especially when they are beyond my control.


	5. Chapter 5

# 4

* * *

Just as the Ugnaught had said, they left bright and early. The morning breeze was cold and nipped at Myrah's skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. She moved closer to the Mandalorian, using his thick cape to keep herself warm. 

They traveled over the rocky terrain as the sun slowly caught up with them. Myrah could feel her heart drop to her stomach every time they jumped over a large crack in the ground. 

She put herself in a lot of dangerous situations, but she was never a fan of heights. Something about the idea of falling, knowing your ultimate doom to become a splat on the ground didn't sit well with her.

The journey was long and it was nearly mid-day by the time they arrived at a wide crater in the ground. The boiling heat had snuck up on them and Myrah could feel the beads of sweat form on her face. She desperately wished for the chilly air to return. 

Even in her light clothing, she was overheated. Myrah couldn't imagine how the Mandalorian was feeling with all the armor and heavy cloth. He couldn't even get a drink of water to ease the heat. 

They stopped on a cliff that oversaw the camp that lay within the orange rock of the planet. Myrah let out a nervous sigh, looking over the Mandalorian's shoulder at the area below them. Her grip tightened for a second, the unfamiliar touch forced him to tense. 

The Ugnaught leaned over to the Mandalorian, pointing at the large building below. "That is where you'll find your quarry."

They both looked over, staring across the broken rock of the planet. Mando held out a small, leather pouch of credits towards the Ugnaught. 

"Please. You deserve this." He spoke as the alien refused the offer. 

"Since these ones arrived, this territory has been an endless stream of mercenaries seeking reward and bringing destruction."

"Then why did you guide us?" 

"They do not belong here. Those that live here come to seek peace. There will be no peace until they're gone." The Ugnaught answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

"Why do you help?" Myrah spoke up, her arms leaving the Mandalorian's body to rest at her sides.

"I have never met a Mandalorian. I've only read the stories. If they are true...you two will make quick work of it. Then there will again be peace... I have spoken." He gave Myrah a kind smile before he turned his blurrg back around, beginning his long trek back home.

"I'm going to miss that little guy." She mumbled against Mando's armor, glancing back as their new little friend left. 

Myrah smiled as Mando hopped off the blurrg. He began walking towards the edge of the cliff until the sound of Myrah clearing her throat echoed through the quiet area.

He spun around to find her holding her hands out, both of her legs slung on one side of the animal. He shook his head and cautiously took her hands in his. His touch was like a feather, so light that Myrah wasn't sure he was actually there. 

"You could have done that yourself." He grumbled as he helped her down. 

"I know." 

The two made their way to the edge, laying on their stomachs as they overlooked the encampment. It was rather large and was full of different aliens congregating with weapons. 

Mando used his small telescope to get a closer view of what was going on. They were all casually hanging around, chatting and minding their own business. There were a few that stood guard around a large door, which must have been where they were holding the asset.

He sighed as he spotted something through the telescope, handing it to Myrah so she could get a closer look. A scowl formed on her face as she peered through the narrow glass.

"Oh shit..." She handed the scope back to him, running a hand over her face.

"Bounty Droid." They spoke at the same time, receiving sharp glares from one another almost immediately following.

"Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset." The droid stopped in front of the aliens that stared at him with blank faces.

A Nikto reached for it's blaster, but the IG-11 droid quickly shot him down, along with several other aliens. They all began to scatter, hiding within their fortress. Soon enough, all the doors to the building closed shut, ruining the easy access to the bounty.

Mando sighed and tucked away his telescope. "Droids."

"Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset." It repeated itself.

The two bounty hunters hid behind one of the many pillars to the building, quietly discussing their next move.

"We need to find a way to knock out the droid." Myrah whispered harshly. "Mando, are you even listening to me?" He glanced around as she spoke. "Mando, I'm-"

The Mandalorian stepped out from their hiding spot, Myrah throwing her hands up in defeat. "IG Unit! Stand down!" He demanded.

It immediately turned and fired at the Mandalorian, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to fly back into a bunch of barrels. He groaned and tried to keep one of the barrels from falling on top of him.

"Idiot." Myrah sighed and stepped out from behind the pillar. The droid turned and pointed the blaster at her, but she already had her metal staff drawn and readied for an attack. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She held up their tracking fob while the Mandalorian struggled to get back on his feet. "We're in the Guild!"

"You two are Guild members? I thought I was the only one on assignment." The droid asked.

"Yeah, that makes three of us." She snapped back. 

"So much for the element of surprise." Mando spoke through gritted teeth.

"Sadly, I must ask for your fob. I have already issued the writ of seizure. The bounty is mine." The IG unit took another step towards the two.

"Unless I'm mistaken, you have no bounty to turn in, metal-head." Myrah snapped.

"This is true."

"I have a suggestion." Mando spoke, causing Myrah's head to snap in his direction.

"Excuse me?" Myrah started.

"Proceed."

"We split the reward." The Mandalorian explained.

" _Excuse me_ -" Myrah began once again, only to be cut off by Mando's hand covering her mouth.

After a pause, the droid finally answered. "This is acceptable."

"Great. Now let's regroup, out of harm's way, and form a plan." Mando pointed towards a small wall where they could hide, trying to not be in plain sight when the Niktos returned with more firearms. 

"I will, of course, receive the reputation merits associated with the mission."

Myrah's protests were muffled beneath Mando's gloved hand. She reached up with her smaller hands, desperately trying to pry it away.

"Can we talk about this later?"

"I require an answer if I am to proceed-" The droid was shot by a blaster. "Oh, no. Alert. Alert. Alert." It was shot again from the roof of the building, unmoving from its spot in harm's way.

Mando quickly turned and shot the alien. Myrah was finally freed from Mando's hand when a door opened, revealing a group of armed Niktos. The three fired at the aliens, taking them out one by one. 

"Let's go!" 

They moved from their hiding spot, dodging bullets as they went. Myrah looked above them, keeping a close eye on the archways and shooting down any hidden aliens. They kept close to the walls, making sure no one could attack them from behind. There was only one small problem.

They forgot about the doors. 

The Mandalorian was pulled back by his cape, nearly dragged into the room by a vicious Nikto. He spun around and hit his blaster against the alien's head, knocking him out cold. When he turned, Myrah nodded her head in approval, considering she had done the same to him not too long ago. 

The three hid behind a large containment, shooting down anyone that they could see. Myrah grabbed the fob, hearing its soft beeping increase as she directed it towards the large central door. 

"He's in there!"

"Affirmative." The droid spoke.

They all stood and ran towards the door, shooting as they went. 

Mando slid behind a pillar, grabbing Myrah and pulling her out of harm's way. She gasped as she was tugged away, looking down at her hands that landed on his chest. Her face contorted into a fowl grimace, staring into the glass of his helmet.

"Let go of me." She pushed herself away from him as the droid skillfully took out their enemies. 

Mando turned and took down another alien, looking at the droid. "Up top!"

Before the IG Unit could get to it, Myrah stepped out and fired a shot at the alien that stood above them. Mando and the droid both sat in wonderment as it fell behind her while she calmly walked back to the pillar, next to the Mandalorian.

The aliens became quiet as they all hid behind boxes and containments. No one was willing to take the next shot.

"It appears we are trapped." The IG Unit's robotic voice spoke out. "I will initiate self-destruct sequencing."

"WHAT?!" Both of the bounty hunters exclaimed while staring daggers at the droid.

"Manufacturer's Protocol dictates I cannot be captured. I must self-destruct."

"Why I outta-" 

Myrah raised her fist and she began to charge at the droid, only to be stopped by Mando quickly wrapping his arms around her to pull her back. She kicked and punched the air, trying to land a hit against the machine.

"Do not self-destruct... Cover me!"

The Mandalorian set Myrah down and ran to the door's panel, messing with the wires as he tried to open it. Myrah growled and worked with the droid to cover him, trying to make sure no shots snuck by. 

There were too many.

One shot barely missed his hand. He was lucky to be quick enough to move behind the pillar to join Myrah and the droid. Otherwise he would have been shot down in mere seconds. 

They all hid behind the wall, occasionally peeking out to shoot down the few aliens they were able to see. 

"They got us pinned." Mando sighed.

"Uh... guys?" Myrah spoke hesitantly, looking out from behind the pillar as the Niktos emerged with a large, levitating gun.

"I will initiate self-destruct." The droid answered.

"I swear if you say that one more time-" Myrah raised her fist again, only for it to be pushed away by the Mandalorians hand.

"Do not self-destruct! We're shooting our way out."Mando stepped out from behind the pillar, staring down the barrel of the giant gun. "....Okay." 

They began rapidly firing the gun at the pillar, destroying its structural integrity. 

"New plan!"

"Beginning self-destruct countdown"

Myrah goes to attack the droid again, but is again stopped by Mando grabbing her wrists 

"No! Stop it!" 

No one is sure whether he's talking to Myrah or the droid. 

"Draw their fire, I'll take it out!"

"Acceptable." 

The droid revealed itself from behind the pillar, trying to shoot at the alien who was manning the gun. It was shot several times before sinking to the ground. Knowing droids, Myrah was sure that it was perfectly fine compared to the burnt crisp they would have become

While the alien was distracted by the IG unit, the Mandalorian stepped out from his hiding spot, shooting a small grappling hook at the gun and pulling it from the alien's grasp. He shot the alien down and mounted the gun's platform, spinning it around as he fired as many shots as he could until the enemies were all destroyed.

Myrah ducked from the fire, a small look of awe forming on her face as the Mandalorian skillfully took out the Niktos. Her expression quickly disappeared when he walked over with his hand held out to her. She hesitated, but gently set her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up from the ground.

"Good, uh-" She cleared her throat, pulling her hand away. "Good shooting."

"You're not too bad of a shot either."

"I will disengage self-destruct initiative." The droid spoke up from its sunken corner.

"It's about time." Myrah gave the droid a small smile, glad to step away from the Mandalorian to help the droid onto its feet. "You know, you're not _too_ bad."

"For a droid." Mando added, standing beside the two.

"Agreed."

"That blaster hit looks nasty. You okay?" The Mandalorian looked over the droid with a small hint of compassion in his words.

"Running a quick diagnostic... It has missed my central wiring harness."

"Is that good?"

"Yes."

Myrah's eyebrows raised as they chatted. "As much as I am loving this bonding moment between you two, we still need to actually get into the building." 

The three are silent, deep in thought until Myrah's eyes lit up, filling with a strong look of mischief. She nudged the armor-clad man with her elbow, tilting her head towards the gun. 

Several shots were fired at the door, tracing its shape until it fell to the ground with a loud slam. A final Nikto stepped out from behind a wall, aiming its blaster at them. Myrah barely turned her head to look at him before she grabbed her blaster and shot him down. She calmly placed it back in its holster, exchanging it for the fob. 

"Anyone else?" She paused. "Thought so."

"The tracking fob is still active. My sensors indicate that there is a life form present."

Myrah held out the fob, moving it around her until she landed on a floating, white pod that was covered with a twine net. The fob began beeping rapidly, intensifying with each step they took towards it.

Mando drew back the net and pressed a small button on the front of it, causing the orb to open and reveal the asset. The two hunters stepped back and stared into the pod in shock.

"Wait... They said fifty years old." Mando turned to Myrah whose eyes locked with the quarry.

"Species age differently. Perhaps it could live many centuries. Sadly, we'll never know."

"No." Mando grabbed the droid's blaster, pushing it back down. "We'll bring it in alive."

"The commission was quite specific." The droid spoke, raising its blaster again without resistance from the Mandalorian. "The asset was to be terminated."

A shot rang through the building as the droid fell to the ground, a gaping hole through what was assumed to be its head. The two hunters both stood with their blasters drawn, aimed at the droid.

"Huh... You're smarter than I thought, Mando." Myrah's mouth quirked into a small, appreciative smile.

The Mandalorian was silent, holding his finger out to the green child as it cooed and wrapped its hand around him. Looking at the child, Myrah could feel a sense of peace wash over her. It was as though all of her worries were gone, her conflicts were eradicated. There was...

Balance.


	6. Chapter 6

# 5

* * *

Orange walls of rock surrounded us, closing in and weighing on my chest like an anvil. The setting sun was bright, but barely lit our path through the small ravine. Small lizards filled the area, alerted by the sound of our boots squishing in the mud.

The child's pod floated a few feet behind us, following us closely during the journey. Mando had connected the carrier to his vambrace. I had forgotten how high-tech Mandalorian armor could be. 

"So, what do you think it is?" I looked up at the Mandalorian who stared straight ahead, acting as though he couldn't hear me. 

"No clue." He finally answered. 

I nodded, feeling the brooding silence build around once again. In all honesty, I did feel bad about knocking him out and holding him hostage on his own ship, but I didn't have a choice. I wanted to prove myself and as usual, I took it too far. 

The ravine grew silent. All of the lizards and insects began to scatter, hiding within the walls or flying far away. I could feel a disturbance, a pair of eyes watching us from somewhere in the cliffs of the rock. 

We stopped walking as everything began to still around us. The breeze, the chirping of the bugs, everything. Instead, an eerie quietness took its place. 

Mando carefully scanned the area, his hand hovering over his blaster. I, too, tried to figure out what could be hiding, silently removing my blaster from its holster. I could sense it, a subtle movement within the crevices of the tarnished rock. I moved my blaster in its direction, but I was too late. 

An orange alien jumped down from the walls, surprising the both of us. It swung an axe towards my head, the swift movement causing me to drop my weapon. Thankfully Mando had managed to jump back and shove the pod away from the action and swiftly grab ahold of his blaster.

The alien swung at me again when I stood back up, but I was able to dodge its attack. I quickly extended my staff, blocking the sharp axe's harsh swings. Oh, the things I would be able to do if I could just press the other button. 

I was pushed back into the rocky wall, using my weapon to push it away as the alien forced the blade towards my neck. I glanced over at the Mandalorian with pleading eyes. He had no reason to save me. He could have left me for dead and continued with his mission like nothing happened.

But he didn't.

He snuck behind the alien and kicked in the backs of his legs, forcing the alien to drop to his knees in front of me. I shrunk the extensions of the staff back into its hilt, using the small piece to slam against the creature's face. 

I could feel my chest heave as I tried to catch my breath. "Thanks." 

"Don't thank me just yet." He spoke while raising his blaster. 

Two more aliens dropped down, both holding similar axes to the first one. Mando nodded towards one, both of us silently agreeing to split up the battle. 

I ducked as the alien swung for my head, a scowl forming on my face. Greef always told me that I needed to stop looking so angry because my face would get stuck that way. I think it may be a bit too late for that.

I sent a firm punch to its face, causing it to stumble back. Mando was dodging the alien's swings and grabbed his rifle from his back, using it to block the axe. He spun and jabbed the butt of the gun against the alien, sending an electric shock through its body as it hit the ground. 

I looked over to find an alien running towards the child, a feeling of protectiveness flooding my senses. "MANDO!" I shouted, pointing towards the alien that was heading for the child. 

Raising the rifle, Mando pulled the trigger and the alien disintegrated into nothing. That was certainly one impressive weapon.

Our heavy breathing became the only sound in the ravine as we tried to recoup from the action. Everything returned to normal so quickly, it was almost as though nothing had even happened. 

Except for the remaining alien bodies.

Mando reattached his rifle to his back, watching as I searched the mud for my gun. I managed to find the gross blaster, my nose wrinkling at its repulsive appearance as I set it back in my holster.

"Well, wasn't that exciting?" I tucked the stray strands of brown hair behind my ears, a tired smile slowly forming on my face.

"Thrilling." He spoke in a monotonous tone, glancing around one last time before we continued on the journey.

The sky was painted in pastels once more as we settled down to camp. It was a little bit of beauty in a day of so much horror. Like a rainbow after a storm. The entire planet was painfully beautiful art that changed with every glance. 

Mando's little cauterizer was the only sound on the desert planet. He worked to seal a cut he received during the battle with the orange aliens. I hadn't even seen that he was injured. 

"I could help-" I started, interrupted by Mando scoffing.

"You'd probably try to kill me with it." He shook his head, focusing again on the task at hand.

I sighed and sat back, admiring the sky as the moon ascended into the sky. "You're not necessarily wrong, I guess." 

I glanced over at him, the corners of my lips morphing into a small frown. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, that I didn't actually want to kill him. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to actually say it out loud. 

The child had somehow managed to crawl from its pod, now standing next to the Mandalorian with an outstretched arm. 

I smiled. Its efforts floated through the growing bond we were forming.

Mando quickly picked the kid up and placed it back in its little home. He sat back down with a huff and began to work on fixing his broken chest plate, wincing when he moved his cut arm.

I rolled my eyes. The man was unbelievably stubborn, I doubt he would let me help even if his life were on the line. 

I sat up as the child once again escaped it's orb, reaching for Mando's arm with his big eyes narrowed. Mando groaned and grabbed the little creature, setting it in the pod and closing it shut. 

He sat back down and went to grab his tool, but ended up grabbing a handful of sand instead. He looked around, patting the sand as he searched for it, gradually becoming more irritated and confused.

"Looking for something?" I grinned and held up the tool he was desperately searching for. 

His head snapped to meet my gaze, quickly trying to grab it from my hand. I pulled my hand back, holding it out of his reach.

"Let me help." I spoke softly. "I promise not to kill you. It's no fun if it isn't a fair fight.." 

He sighed and looked down at his wounded arm. It still looked fresh and was prone to infection if it wasn't closed soon. Reluctantly, he nodded.

I moved closer to him, cautiously taking hold of his arm. Using a small pocket knife, I cut the fabric of his sleeve a bit wider so it wouldn't get caught in the wound. 

The tool sparked as I turned it on, the sparks reflecting in the dark glass of his helmet resembled stars. I could have easily gotten lost in the flicker of its light. 

I was careful while cauterizing the wound, barely touching the hot metal against the cut. My fingers brushed against the bare skin around it, but it was enough for him to tense and go stiff. I had almost forgotten how strange the contact must be to him. 

"Relax... I said I won't kill you... yet." I looked up at him through my eyelashes, feeling a little smirk quirk at the corners of my mouth. 

He shook his head and looked away, taking a deep breath as he allowed himself to relax next to me.

I closed my eyes while my mind went blank, focusing on the pain in his arm. My mind began wandering and I could feel a struggle, pain that was not from a measly cut but from loss. This wasn't my mind... it was his. 

I tore my hands from his arm, my body shaking as I recovered. He turned and looked down at the barely visible cut. At this point, it was practically just a scar. 

"What did you do?" He lifted his head and I could instantly feel his eyes lock with mine. I imagined they were brown, like mine, but maybe lighter. 

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head and tried to act clueless. "I helped you with the cut, just like I said I would."

I tossed the tool on the ground, tearing my gaze from his. His eyes were nowhere to be seen, but they seared my skin with its burning stare. That made it even more difficult to lie. 

"Sealing a wound doesn't make it disappear." 

"I think the blood loss is going straight to your head. Are you feeling alright?" I raised an eyebrow and tapped my finger against his helmet. 

He stared at me. I could only assume he was trying to figure out what I've done. His confused thoughts were overwhelming. I could suddenly hear his questions, each one putting him more on edge. 

"Stop staring at me... It's weird." I crossed my arms, trying to get out of his head if only for a few moments. "Do you know what Greef would say if he caught you looking at me that long?" 

He quickly regained his senses, listening to my words instead of his own thoughts. He let out a single airy chuckle. "He would have my head on a stake."

"Damn right he would." I could no longer hold back the smile that snuck on my face. I quickly wiped it away, or at least concealing it with my arms. "So, uh... Why'd you join the Guild, Mando?" 

"I'm a Mandalorian... We are born to be bounty hunters and mercenaries. I didn't really have a choice." 

"I know... Don't Mandalorians usually work independently? I've never met a Mandalorian who has an employer." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His posture had relaxed, leaning towards the little lantern he had set up. 

He paused. "And just how many Mandalorians have you met?"

"Quite a few, actually. There is a covert on Nevarro. Don't you know?" 

I laughed off my slip up. Mandalorians had become sparse since the fall of Mandalore, everyone knew that. Still, I didn't want to lie. He just didn't have to know the whole truth yet. 

"Yes... " I could feel his confusion grow once again. "Why did you join the Guild?"

I sighed and laid back in the soft sand. It was warm, but the cool breeze of the night would soon arrive and destroy the comfort I currently embraced. I rolled on my side and gazed into the helm. 

"Sometimes it's nice to know someone has your back... I haven't had that for a while. I didn't think I needed it. Still, I like having a place to call home. I almost have a family... People to protect me, people I can trust."

"You seem perfectly capable of taking care of yourself." He chuckled.

"I am." I answered quickly and confidently. "But I ran around with a bad crowd. They outnumbered me and I needed backup... I'm sure you understand." I sent him a wink before yawning, folding my hands beneath my head. "Wake me when you're tired. If you try anything while I'm sleeping, I-"

"I know. You'll kill me." Mando mimicked me, poking at his chest plate with the soldering iron.

I could feel myself drift to sleep, no longer willing to force the smile off my face. Maybe we didn't completely trust each other, after all, I did kidnap him, but we had each other's backs. We both wanted the same thing and that was to get the hell off of this planet and pretend this never happened. 


	7. Chapter 7

# 6

* * *

"Get up." Mando growled.

He had been up for nearly an hour while I tried to fall back asleep. His incessant pacing kept me up and his boots kicked sand on me with his heavy, restless steps. 

For the last hour, he kept trying to get me up on my feet. I was exhausted and while the sand wasn't quite as nice of a bed as the ones the Ugnaught offered us, it was comforting. 

I groaned and pushed his foot away, squeezing my eyes shut as the blinding sun rose in the sky. 

"Five more minutes..." 

He was suspiciously quiet after that. I could practically hear the gears turn in his head. His quiet sigh was relaxing, almost like a peaceful white noise that lulled me back to sleep. 

Unfortunately it didn't last long.

I hardly had any time to react before he threw me over his shoulder. My eyes shot open and I soon started kicking my legs and punching his back. With his armor, I'm pretty sure it hurt me more than it hurt him.

"MANDO, I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN-"

He dropped me.

Right there, on the ground. 

I gasped, feeling the wind knocked out of my lungs for the brief moment. And he had the audacity to laugh at me?

I grabbed his foot and pulled it from under him, smiling to myself as he fell face-first on the ground. 

"You are the worst." I hissed and grabbed the edge of the child's pod, pulling it behind me as I stomped through the sand.

"Wake up the first time then." Mando grumbled as he quickly caught up.

Something about the combination of being woken up so abruptly and his sassiness caused a fury of anger to bubble up inside of me. I turned sharply on my heel, glaring up into his helmet that revealed nothing but a blinding glare from the sun. 

"You're only here because I chose to bring you along, you know? If I wanted to, I could have-"

"Killed me?" He interjected.

"Easily." I poked his chest roughly, forcing him to stumble back.

We continued on the journey in a constant state of bickering and complaining about one another. For someone who was so quiet, he certainly had a lot to say about how annoying I was. I could easily say the same for him.

"And another thing, _Mando_ -"

"Be quiet." 

"Excuse me?" My eyebrows raised and my hands landed on my hips as I stared at him.

He turned to look at me, clearly annoyed. It's funny how easy his body posture was to read. In our silence, quiet chattering noises over the hill erupted. I guess he did actually hear something.

We crouched down by the ledge, overlooking the Razor Crest and the tiny cloaked beings that surrounded it. He grabbed his telescope to peer down at the scene, but it was pretty obvious what was happening. The Razor Crest was being torn apart, its pieces being loaded up into a large fortress.

"Jawas." I groaned and sat back in the sand, watching as Mando grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the little pests.

The Jawa screamed as it disintegrated, hit by the rifle's blast. Mando grabbed another bullet and loaded it into the gun. He looked into the scope, taking his aim once again. 

"You _have_ to show me how to use that one of these days." I gawked, watching his precision with the weapon.

"I thought you were done with me." Mando teased. 

My jaw went slack as I struggled to come up with another witty remark. "I'm done with _you_ , not the gun." 

The Jawas were running back to their crawling fort, leaving pieces of the ship scattered around. Mando fired again, another Jawa disappearing into oblivion. One daring Jawa held a small blaster in its hand, firing randomly into the air. 

I laughed when Mando shot that one down as well. 

The last of the Jawas loaded into their fort, closing their ramp behind them. Mando hopped up and with a short glance, we silently agreed to chase after it. 

Mando kneeled, aiming his rifle at the back of the fort. 

"That's not going to work!" I shouted. 

Just as I suspected, it didn't do anything.

Mando sighed and tossed the rifle down, running after it again while I was hot on his trail. He jumped up and grabbed onto the side of the vehicle, grunting as he pulled himself up. I could hear him gulp when he looked down at the large tires beneath him.

I followed him, latching onto the wall. "Move it or lose it!" 

I tapped his foot, pressuring him to move further up the fortress. His slight jump made it seem like he hadn't even known I followed him up. 

"What are you doing?!" He shouted down to me as we climbed up the side. 

"Helping! It's my ride too, you know?" I poked his foot again. "Now climb faster! I don't feel like dying."

The Jawas sped the vehicle up, closing in on a large wall of rock that would soon crush the two of us. My eyes widened as I stared at my ultimate, untimely death. 

A hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me up before I could be crushed by the rock. A pair of arms wrapped tight around me, holding my body tight against them. I looked up to find the Mandalorians shiny helmet staring at me. 

I could feel his heartbeat with my face pressed to his neck. For someone who purposely put himself in dangerous situations, his heart was racing. I'm surprised he hasn't gone into cardiac arrest if he gets this nervous every time he's in a life-threatening situation. 

The Jawas immediately started throwing scraps at us once we passed the rock. Mando released me from his grasp, helping me stand with him on the ledge. 

"Stay here." He demanded.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do." I snapped. Still, I stayed because it was the safest option for the both of us.

He grabbed onto the bolts on the wall of the fort, scaling it as fast as he could. He reached up and grabbed onto the ledge of an open window, but a Jawa quickly shut it, forcing him to let go and nearly fall from the side.

Mando shot his grapple up at the top, holding onto it while he moved his feet flat against the wall. After a moment, he began his slow ascent up towards the obnoxious little creatures. 

Each step he took made my heart drop to my stomach. 

Jawas continued to throw scrap metal at him, one going so far as to jabbing him with an electric prod through a window. He grabbed the Jawa angrily and threw it to the ground. My eyes followed its body as it fell, wincing as it hit the dirt with a thud.

He finally pulled himself to the top of the fort, standing on its ledge. I was hoping he would try to talk civilly with them, but that wasn't necessarily his approach to anything.

He grabbed his blaster, but it was too late. They all shot their tasers at him, I could practically see the electric currents flowing through his body. Stunned, he fell backwards from the fort, landing on a large rock below.

My heart stopped for a moment as he fell. In my eyes, it all happened in slow motion.

"MANDO- ... You absolute dumbass." I growled and hopped down from the fort, skillfully landing to only gain a few scratches and possible bruises on my elbows. 

I ran over to his lifeless body, a flurry of worries filling my mind as I came closer to him. I kneeled next to him, hovering my hands over his armor. While I desperately wanted to check him for a pulse or any sign that he was alive, I would only be shocked if I touched him right now. 

I had to sit back and wait for the electricity to die down. I tried to see if I could feel something- _anything_ \- just by being near him, but I couldn't. 

The child's pod caught up with us, floating nearby. I looked over at the tiny alien and gently rubbed its ear. He was nervous and almost sad. 

"He'll be fine..." I whispered. 

But even I didn't believe my own words. 

* * *

The wind finally blew through the desert, my hair quickly becoming tangled behind me as it came loose from my ponytail. Strands of hair stuck to my sweaty face. I was starting to feel gross and sticky. After everything we had to face on the trip, I was in desperate need of a bath.

I looked down at Mando and sighed, pressing my hand to his chest. It had been a few hours and the shock had finally worn down. His pulse was there, but it was slow. 

I focused my energy, keeping my breathing steady and pressing harder against his chest. He was injured and I wasn't sure how much longer he would have made it without my help. I obviously couldn't take the armor or helmet off so I had to use the next best thing.

It was a struggle at first, I was a bit out of practice, but eventually, he began to stir. I quickly pulled my hand back. Tingles rolled through my arm after giving him a sliver of my life.

The child's ears perked up and a large smile snuck onto my face as he struggled to sit up. I wiped away the grin as soon as he looked in my direction, maintaining my usual resting face instead. 

"You're awake." I stated simply, trying not to sound too excited. It didn't work too well. The corners of my mouth quirked up again, daring to reveal the smile I hid from him. 

"No shit." He groaned. There was a beat of silence, the only sound was his heavy breaths as he regained his strength. 

I stood and held my hand out to him, offering to help him up from his spot on the ground. 

"I'm, uh... glad you're not dead."

He let out an airy, pained chuckle and took my hand. I could feel a small shock go through my arm as I helped him to his feet. My hand lingered longer than it should have, feeling the soft leather of his glove. 

"Let's go see the damage." He spoke, bringing me back to reality. 

I tore my hand from his and nodded, beginning to walk back towards the ship side-by-side with the child close behind. 

We arrived at the remains of the Razor Crest, the sun setting once again. I really didn't want to spend another day on this planet, but it didn't seem like we were leaving anytime soon. 

Mando threw open the doors to the circuit box, watching the wires spark and short circuit in front of him. He sighed and slammed the doors shut, continuing on his search for _something_ salvageable on board. 

He walked towards the cockpit, wires crackling around him. I kept my distance, following a few feet behind for a while until I hid in the belly of the ship. 

The engine was failing to start, sputtering and shutting down. My heart ached for him. This ship was all he had. 

The ladder creaked and turned to watch Mando climb down. He glanced over at me and at the small space next to me. I nodded and tried to scoot over as much as I could when he sat next to me.

It was a tight squeeze, but neither one of us minded. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, it was just abnormal for him to voluntarily be so close. Besides, even if it was uncomfortable, he was far more concerned with everything else. 

"I think it just needs a fresh coat of paint." I joked, turning to look at him with a nervous smile.

He sighed, but chuckled, nodding his head. "Yeah, that'll do it."

There was a soft coo from the corner of the room, both of us looking over to see the child sitting with its eyes wide and ears perked up. A lightbulb went off in my head. 

"Do you think the Ugnaught would help us?"

"Huh..." He chuckled again. "Never thought I'd see the day that you would have a good idea." He teased and stood up, grabbing the child and walking towards the back ramp of the Razor Crest.

"What is that supposed to mean? You've known me for four days!" I jumped up and ran after them. "Wonder if he has a brain under that dumb shiny helmet."


	8. Chapter 8

# 7

* * *

"Mando, can we talk?" 

I mumbled loud enough for him to hear me. We weren't too far from the Ugnaught's house, but there were words I could not leave unsaid any longer. 

I could see him turn to look at me, shrugging his shoulders. I suppose that was his way of saying go ahead.

"I mean, like, stop and talk."

"Can it wait until-" He grumbled. 

"No, it can't!" I snapped, stopping dead in my tracks. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said it like that."

He sighed and turned around, standing in front of me with his head tilted. I looked into the dark glass of the helmet and there was a soft warmth within the chilling visor. A cloud of mystery surrounded him and everything he did. He was always so hot and cold, I never knew which side of him I would get.

"I'm so sorry." I paused to see if he had anything to say, but he remained completely silent. "You know, for attacking you, tying you up, forcing you to give me your bounty, and treating you like shit..." 

I shifted my gaze towards the ground, beginning to rock on my feet. It wasn't the more apologetic thing to say, but I truly was sorry. My words were harsh, but the sincerity was there. 

"It's okay."

"That's it?" 

My eyes snapped back up to his helmet, completely bewildered by his lack of response. I couldn't tell if he didn't care or if he couldn't think of anything else to say.

He only shrugged once again and looked off in the distance, barely seeing the Ugnaught's house. I guess he truly was a man of very few words. 

"We should get going before the sun sets."

I nodded and looked towards the child's pod. He cooed and stretched out his arms, blinking his big brown eyes. My heart jumped at the sight and couldn't stop myself from picking him up and cradling him in my arms. 

I could sense Mando's eyes watching me the entire way, but I couldn't bring myself to look back at him. 

The Ugnaught stood up on the tower next to his home, fixing the circuit board. Sparks were flying from his soldering iron and reflecting off his goggles. The sun had nearly set and the flickering of the light clashed beautifully with the blue sky.

"I thought you two were dead."

He turned around and looked down at us while we stared up at him in silence. With a shake of his head an exasperated sigh, he climbed down to join us on the ground. 

"This is what was causing all the fuss?"

He pointed down to the little alien that was chasing around a small frog. His innocence amazed me. I still couldn't believe this little kid was fifty years old.

Mando fiddled with his vambrace as small electric currents continued to go through it. "I think it's a child." He mumbled.

"It is better to deliver it alive then."

Up until now I had completely forgotten about the fact that we had to turn this child over to someone. I hadn't met the client. I sort of just stole the mission without thinking about anything else. 

"Our ship has been destroyed. We're trapped here." I crossed my arms, watching the alien as he walked away. "We need your help."

"Stripped. Not destroyed. The Jawas steal. They don't destroy." He handed Mando a small screwdriver to fix his haywire armor.

"Sure as hell looked destroyed from where I stood." I shrugged and returned to watching the child run after the amphibian, giggling as it chased it. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. 

"They're protected by their crawling fortress. There's no way to recover the parts." Mando stated, messing with the wiring.

"You can trade."

I laughed. "Trade with the Jawas? Are you nuts or just plain stupid?"

Mando looked over at me with a disappointed sigh. "Myrah..." He whispered like it was a warning.

"I will take you to them... I have spoken." The Ugnaught nodded before leaving for his home.

I rolled my eyes and glanced back at the child. "Hey!" 

Mando turned to see what the fuss was about. He spotted the child as well, standing innocently with half of the frog in its mouth. 

"Spit that out!"

The child, of course, didn't listen, and proceeded to swallow the frog whole. He smiled up at us, resulting in a groan from Mando.

I chuckled and looked over at him, but he just kept watching the child. I couldn't blame him, it was quite possibly the cutest thing I had ever seen. We both had grown strangely attached to it since we found it.

He turned to look at me while I was lost in my own world. This time, I was too slow to hide the small smile that formed when I was watching the two of them. He kept looking at me, both of us just staring at one another in complete blissful silence.

"It's rude to stare." He joked. I could practically hear the grin in his words.

"I can't help it."

I meant it as an innocent joke, only continuing the playful banter we formed this week, but something had changed. We were far from being friends, but we no longer hated each other. I knew he could feel the change too. Suddenly I was back in his head, but there was a warmth to it now.

It wasn't so cold and lonely anymore.

He was the first to break the eye contact, turning and helping pack the small trailer the Ugnaught had prepared for the journey. I stayed back for a few moments, smiling to myself. Something was changing, something much greater than a small friendship. This was otherworldly and it was weird, but I loved it.

* * *

I could feel someone shaking me as I slowly came to my senses. At some point during the trip, I must've fallen asleep again. I didn't really mind all the sleep I was getting considering we had encountered quite a lot since we've been here.

I opened my eyes to find a bright, shiny helmet above me, softly saying something about how I needed to 'wake up.'

"I can't keep waking you up."

"Oh, it's not that bad." I sat up and stretched my arms, yawning. "I'm just glad you didn't toss me around this time."

He shook his head and pointed towards the Jawa's fortress. The trip was definitely much shorter when you fall asleep for over half of it.

The Jawas shouted and pointed their guns at us. None of them were particularly happy to see us again.

"Greetings!" The Ugnaught replied.

Mando was sitting on a stool, holding his rifle tight in his hands. I moved my hand towards my blaster, becoming more awake and more on edge the closer we got to them.

"They really don't like you guys for some reason."

I nodded towards Mando with a small smirk. "He did disintegrate a few of them...Then chased them."

" _We_ chased them." Mando tried to defend himself, looking between the Ugnaught and me. 

"You need to drop your guns."

Mando stiffened, his grip tightening on the gun. "I'm a Mandalorian. Weapons are part of my religion."

The Ugnaught shrugged. "Then you are not getting your parts back." 

"Fine." We both groaned and set our weapons on the trailer.

Mando and the Ugnaught hopped onto the ground, ready to walk towards the group of Jawas. I sighed loudly enough to catch both of their attention, a wide grin spreading across my face as I sat on the edge of the trailer.

I held both of my hands out in front of me and looked over at Mando, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head, but walked over and helped me down regardless.

The Ugnaught looked at us suspiciously and with a sight grin before he turned his attention to the muttering Jawas. 

"And the blaster."

Mando gave him a sharp look, one which the Ugnaught returned rather quickly. I leaned over and grabbed his blaster from its holster, tossing it on the trailer. That received a bewildered look from both of them, but I shrugged it off.

The Ugnaught waved us over and we all sat down in front of a large group of Jawas. He had been communicating with the group to come up with a trade, but it hadn't gone over very well.

"They will trade all the parts for the beskar."

I snorted and shook my head. "That's never gonna happen. They stole these parts."

"She's right. I'm not gonna trade anything. These are my parts." Mando spoke, clearly already riled up by the situation.

I chuckled."I'm glad you're finally agreeing with me."

The Jawa spoke again, something Mando did not seem to understand.

"They-they...belong...to me!" Mando gestured towards himself. 

I couldn't help but giggle at his attempt to speak their language. The Jawas thought it was funny too as they all burst into laughter.

"You speak terrible Jawa. You sound like a Wookie." The Jawa joked.

"You understand this?" Mando activated the flame thrower within his vambrace, aiming it at the group of Jawas.

"NO!" Both the Ugnaught and I shouted.

I grabbed his wrist, looking up into his helmet. He deactivated the flames and looked at me with what came off as a rather soft expression. I tried to suppress my smile. I found the situation we were in to be quite comical.

"Easy there, Big Guy. No need to show off, okay?" 

I slid my hand down to his, gently patting it before I pulled my hands away. I could see his fingers twitch and a small part of me wanted to reach back for his hand again, but I pushed that to the back of my mind.

"He is Mandalorian. He cannot give you his beskar armor." The Ugnaught replied to the Jawa.

The Jawa sat for a moment, thinking before pointing at the child. Mando and I turned to see a couple of Jawas gathering around it.

"Get away from it!" He snapped. He was clearly just as protective of the child as I was.

There was another moment before the Jawa pointed at me, muttering, "We will take the girl in exchange for your parts."

I growled. "I am not to be sold, you demon. Now get your finger out of my face before I snap it."

"There must be something else."

The Jawas huddled together as they spoke, glancing occasionally at the group. I wished that I could rip their beading red eyes right out of their skull, but that was just a little aggressive.

"How do you know-" Mando started, leaning over to whisper to me.

"My family taught me." I interrupted. "Jawas are a fairly common species on Tatooine and they said you need to know how to negotiate with them."

"Tatooine?"

Before I could respond, the Jawas broke from the huddle, approaching us once again.

"We will require The Egg. Bring us The Egg."

"The egg? What egg?" Mando looked over at me. We must have worn the same confused expression despite being unable to see his.

The Jawas began to shout "The Egg!" Over and over. Clearly celebrating something that Mando and I didn't understand.


	9. Chapter 9

# 8

* * *

The Jawas were small creatures, this was no surprise to the bounty hunters, but they didn't expect _everything_ to be small.

Their ceilings matched their low height and forced the hunters to hunch over during the entirety of the trip. Their heads bumped the top several times, but when the Jawas purposely maneuvered the vehicle over a wide crater, their heads crashed together and hit the ceiling while a sharp pain shot through their skulls.

Myrah groaned and grabbed hold of the Mandalorian's arm to keep her steady. The aching in her head was more intense than she expected. She almost thought her head cracked.

He looked down at her, surprised by her sudden touch. He wasn't used to people touching him and his reactions were proof of this throughout their time together. Every time her hand brushed against him, he flinched or tensed in some way.

She tore her hands from his arm, taking a small step away from him. He could still feel the ghost of her hands gripping his arm and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He hadn't been so close to someone in a long, long time.

The fort came to a halt and they lowered the ramp to the ground. They stopped a couple of miles away from the supposed 'egg.' Something about wanting to keep themselves safe from what the bounty hunters were about to encounter.

_That_ made them nervous.

The child floated behind the two of them across the sandy terrain as they followed the Jawas directions to 'the egg'. It wasn't too long of a journey. In fact, it was all too easy.

They stopped in front of a large, dark, never ending cave. Neither one was aware of what could lie within it. They only hoped that it was as simple as the trip and not another battle they would have to win.

The Mandalorian stood a few feet away from the cave's entrance, glancing down at Myrah who was double checking the straps on her holster.

"You're not going in there with me."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't stop me?" She quipped and shook her head with a sigh.

He grabbed her arm and turned her in to face him, crouching down to match her gaze. For some reason the idea of her getting hurt because of this caused a lump to form in his throat. 

"It's-"

"Dangerous? I know. I prefer it that way, Mando." 

She winked and wrapped her fingers delicately around his hand, pulling it away from her arm. She enjoyed the feeling of the worn leather in her hand again, wanting to hold on just a bit longer before walking into the unknown abyss.

They both patted down and checked their weapons, making sure everything was where it's supposed to be.

"Ready?" He asked, a bit of anxiousness filling his muffled voice.

"As I'll ever be." She took a deep breath and looked up at him with a shrug. "Let's do this."

They grabbed their blasters and entered the mysterious cave while the child stayed behind in the open canyon. He watched them as they slowly disappeared, whining and wishing they would return quickly. 

The Mandalorian pressed a small button on the side of his helmet, turning on a flashlight to light their way. Though it was creepy and reeked of something rotten, it was serene. The drips of water paired with the chirping bugs was extremely relaxing. It could easily be mistaken for an oasis if it wasn't for the fear of death and the horrid stench.

Their boots squished in the mud as they walked through, finding nothing but bones and dirt.

"It's disgusting in here." Myrah complained, quickly being hushed by the Mandalorian.

There was a low, quiet growl that caught their attention, followed by a deathly silence. The Mandalorian looked around, shining his flashlight throughout the cave until the two caught sight of an eye shooting open, freezing them in their spots.

Red lights illuminated the cave and the sound of blaster shots filled the desert area. There was a loud roar and the two bounty hunters were thrown from the cave, groaning as they hit the muddy ground.

"Get back." The Mandalorian growled to Myrah before he grabbed his rifle.

The mudhorn emerged from the cave while he prepared to aim his rifle. He pressed the trigger, but nothing fired. 

"Just shoot it, Mando." Myrah insisted.

"I'm _trying_." He pressed it again, but it was stuck.

The muddy creature roared again and charged at the Mandalorian. Before anyone could react, he was thrown back into the mud.

It looked over at the child, preparing to charge it. Suddenly both bounty hunters became much more alert at the threat.

Myrah panicked, watching as the Mandalorian searched for the pod's controls. She couldn't bear to wait any longer. She swiped her hand through the air, the child's pod swiftly following her movement.

The Mandalorian gawked, his jaw falling open and eyes widening beneath his helmet. He was certain that he hadn't been able to control it in time, but how else could it have moved?

The mudhorn's attention also shifted to the woman, an anger growing in its eyes. It ran at her as fast as it could while she searched her body for a weapon of some kind, but it already had her pinned to the ground.

Myrah groaned and reached for her blaster, firing numerous shots at the beast.

It didn't do much.

A small grapple connected to the animals horn with the Mandalorian standing at the other end. He tried to pull the animal away from Myrah, but it had other plans.

The mud horn began to pull him through the mud, dragging the Mandalorian behind him and eventually tossing him to the side in a large puddle. 

"Hey! Muddy Buddy!" 

Myrah stood, blaster in hand while she waved the animal in her direction. "Come and get me." She spoke quietly as she ran out of breath. The Mandalorian couldn't tell if she was brave or extremely stupid.

Again, it ran towards her. This time, however, she ran at it as well.

Myrah grabbed hold of its horn, throwing her leg over it as she tried to tug the animal onto its back. She was too exhausted, mentally and physically to overpower it. It shook her off easily and roughly tossed her into a puddle of mud, but its focus was no longer on the Mandalorian, which was her goal.

The Mandalorian laid on his back, sparks flying from his chest plate that he had only fixed a few days ago. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He swore that the planet started spinning faster and that he was nearing his end.

He sat up and looked around at the horrific scene that was laid out before him. Myrah's body was still in the mud, causing his stomach to twist in a knot while the child sat innocently in its pod. The mudhorn was preparing itself to charge at him again and at this point, he almost gave up entirely.

He pushed himself onto his knees and unsheathed a hidden knife from his boot. His hands shook, but he held it tight in front of him as the beast ran. His eyes squeezed shut, preparing himself to feel his end.

But it never came.

The Mandalorian looked up, slowly opening his eyes, almost afraid of what he would see. He certainly didn't expect to find the mudhorn levitating in front of him, kicking its legs in frustration.

He took his time bringing himself to his feet, his legs shaking as he regained his strength. His mud-covered helmet turned to the child. Its arm was outstretched and its eyes were squinting tight while it focused. It became clear that this was its doing.

His attention was redirected to the mudhorn once it was dropped back on its feet. He stumbled back a bit, but took his opportunity to strike. He drove his knife into the beast's side and collapsed as it, too, fell to the ground. 

He was beyond exhausted, unable to stand from the puddle of mud he laid in. Still, he had a mission to complete.

He allowed himself to rest for a few moments before he stood again. His chest plate had been contorted, bent in places that would never be restored. The only piece of armor that kept up during the battle was his beskar shoulder plate. While it didn't do much to protect him, he was grateful for it.

He stared at the knife that stuck out of the mudhorns side, grasping its handle and twisting it in its body to assure himself that it was dead. It soon returned to its hiding place in his boot after wiping it against his sleeve. There was no point in trying to keep himself clean considering he was covered head-to-toe in mud.

When the Mandalorian looked over at Myrah, his breath hitched in his throat. She remained still in the gross, murky water. He couldn't even tell if she was breathing anymore.

He kneeled next to her lifeless body, shaking her shoulder gently as he had that morning.

There was nothing.

"Myrah?" His voice was soft, hardly more than a whisper. "Myrah, get up. It's over."

Again, nothing.

His heart dropped to his stomach. She couldn't be dead. He didn't know what to do if she died. He would have to bring her back to Greef and he didn't want to know what would happen if he delivered her in such a state.

He scooped her up into his arms, holding her close to his body as he sat in the watery mud. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her skin had gone sickly pale, even the soft pink of her lips had faded.

By all accounts, she looked gone.

"Gotcha."

The Mandalorian quickly looked down at her, finding her eyes parted slightly with a little mischievous grin on her face. Her hand grasped the top of his chest plate, trying to bend it back to its original state.

"Thought you could get rid of me that easily? You should know better, Mando." 

He let out a sigh, relieved that she was still alive. He wasn't one for showing his emotions so openly, but he was too tired to try to hold anything back. 

"What happened to staying back?"

"You would have died if I didn't do anything." She let out an airy chuckle, wincing as she did.

He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't helped. He was certain that he would be a dead man without her assistance.

He stood slowly and helped her to her feet. Her hands continued to cling onto his arms while she steadied herself.

"I thought you wanted me dead." He spoke softly with a teasing tone, staring down at her. He still couldn't believe she was still alive after she took that hit.

"You still owe me, remember? Plus I need a lesson on how to shoot that gun." 

She lifted her hand and wiped the mud from his visor, a very small, but genuine smile on her face. Her hand lingered on the side of his helmet, tracing its curves and lines. 

"For being a cocky, overbearing jerk... You're not the worst..."

He couldn't hold back his chuckle, growing weak under her gaze. "And for being a stuck up, narcissistic psychopath... You're not too bad either."

Behind the mask, he hid a small, content smile. Although, he was certain she sensed it was there.

"We make a good team." She whispered, pulling her hand away from his helm.

Myrah let go of his arms and limped over to the child, looking down at the sleeping alien with a loving smile. His eyes lingered on her for a few seconds before forcing himself to look away and fetch 'the egg.'

When he returned, he found Myrah's adoring smile directed his way. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel his stomach churn at the sight. He brushed it off, assuming he was simply grateful for her to be alive, but something about the feeling was much different.

And much worse.


	10. Chapter 10

# 9

* * *

The sun was starting to set and it had already been several hours since Myrah and the Mandalorian had left to fetch the Jawas prized possession. They were growing more impatient by the second and they finally had enough, assuming the two of them were long gone and would not be returning any time soon. 

"Fine. Go without me." The Ugnaught shouted. He would wait for them alone if he had to. He just _knew_ they would return. They had to.

The Jawas mumbled and began reloading into their fort, prepping for the hatch to close behind them. As it started to close, they could see the group emerge from behind the hills. They were clearly exhausted, but they had the egg.

"Mando! Myrah!" The alien exclaimed. His face lifted and his eyes became brighter just at the sight of them. 

The Mandalorian sighed. "We have it. We've got the egg." His voice was a clear sign of his weariness. Every word sounded forced and desperate. 

The Jawas burst into cheers from within the fort. They lowered the ramp to the ground once again as they all filed out, hurrying towards the Mandalorian. Each one reached for the egg desperately as they crowded the bounty hunters. They all wanted to get their hands on it. 

He handed the weird furry egg over to them, glad to get rid of the thing that almost got them killed. 

The Mandalorian tensed up when a hand was placed gently on his arm. He glanced down to see Myrah's delicate fingers wrapped around his bicep, lightly grasping it. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she pointed at the huddled group of Jawas.

"What are they going to do-"

She was quickly cut off by the Jawa shouting , holding the egg up in the air like a prize. It lowered it to the ground as another grabbed a knife, slicing off its top. They all swarmed the egg, frantically reaching their hands in and consuming its contents.

Myrah's face morphed into one of disgust while they fed off of the egg, feeling a wave of nausea wash over her. She pulled her hands to her sides and swiftly walked towards the Ugnaught with the Mandalorian not far behind, shaking his head. 

The Ugnaught smiled proudly as they walked over. Of course he believed in them and hoped that they would return, but there was a small part of him that doubted that they survived. 

"I'm surprised you waited." The Mandalorian looked down at the friendly alien who stared at them both appreciatively with a bit of disgust. Both hunters were coated in a thick layer of mud that could practically be scraped off of them. 

"I'm surprised you two took so long." He nodded and ventured back into the fort.

Myrah snorted. "He got you there."

"Well, if you would've just gotten up." 

"What can I say? I liked seeing you all worried about me." She teased with a little grin that caused his stomach to flip.

"I was only concerned about what Greef would do."

She rolled her eyes and shoved his arm playfully before following after the Ugnaught. He sighed, watching her walk away for a moment. He couldn't believe that this was the same girl that tried to kill him a few days prior.

He turned and looked back at the child who slept peacefully in its pod. It warmed his heart every time he looked at it. It was hard to believe that something so innocent could be the cause of so much violence.

That's when it clicked.

These two would be the death of him.

* * *

Pieces of the ship were piled high up on the trailer, taking over the platform. It wasn't nearly as easy as the trip there was. The only space left was at the front of the ship where there was a small tool box that both bounty hunters were forced to sit on. 

Myrah struggled to sit on the box as the Mandalorian refused to move. Every bump they hit caused her to fall off of it. At some points, she had to cling onto him just to stay on the trailer at all. 

"Why don't you just sit on the floor?" The Mandalorian huffed and leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

"I would want to stretch out my legs and I don't have enough space to stretch out my legs. Why don't y _ou_ sit on the floor?" She poked his chest plate with her eyebrows raised, refusing to move her finger.

He turned and stared at her through the window of his helmet, finding himself lost in her gaze. "I don't want to."

"Then I guess we're stuck here." 

She peered through the glass, instantly making eye contact with him despite not being able to see anything past the visor. 

They stared at one another, silently daring the other to move or speak another word. It was a fairly intense moment, especially for the Mandalorian. She looked like a predator, hunting for their next victim.

He just so happened to be the unlucky prey.

There was no sound except for the soft whistle of the wind blowing. It flowed through her hair, swimming with the breeze. Her brown eyes glimmered, specks of gold floating through them due to the setting sun.

He was completely captivated by her. 

It was strange how someone so ruthless and violent could look so innocent and sweet. If some unknowing passerby happened to see her in this state, he was sure they would be completely swept off of their feet. 

He couldn't even remember what they were talking about.

All he could think about was how soft her hair must be even with the sand and mud that had collected in it the past few days. Or how delicate her skin was and how bolts of electricity shot through when it brushed against his. It had been so long since he had received any sort of affection and now he was drowning in it.

But he didn't want it to stop. 

"Is it still sleeping?" 

The two were interrupted from their stare-off, both quickly tearing their eyes from one another. The Mandalorian immediately turned his attention to the child next to him, happy to have his thoughts interrupted. 

"Yes." He responded shortly.

"Was it injured?"

"Not physically." Myrah spoke up and looked down at her hands, her eyes glossed over with a sense of knowingness that neither one of the others could decipher. 

* * *

By the time they arrived back at the Razor Crest, the sun had already set. The darkness surrounded them, but the moon's reflection off of the metal made it seem tranquil and relaxing. However, it was far from a relaxing evening.

The Ugnaught began setting up a light pole for enhanced visibility while they worked. Myrah and the Mandalorian were already getting started on unloading the floating boat. Despite their exhaustion, they knew the only way they would finish within a week was if they started now. 

"There's no way we're gonna get this to work without a full maintenance facility. This is gonna take days to fix." 

The Mandalorian stared up at the ship disappointingly. He still wasn't over its original destruction, the ship was all he had. 

Myrah walked past him, bumping her shoulder roughly against his as she went by. His head snapped to see her standing in front of him, spinning a screwdriver in her hand.

"You know, if you help, it might go a little bit faster." She teased with a smile and tilt of her head. 

The Ugnaught laughed while Myrah walked towards the ship, leaving the Mandalorian speechless. 

"The girl is funny, I see why you keep her around. Now, come on. There is much work to do." The small alien handed him a small bag of tools, with a nod. 

They spent several days and nights focused on fixing the ship. Of course, Myrah took breaks to make jokes and to poke fun at the Mandalorian, but he truly didn't mind. In fact, he found himself smiling whenever she was near. A little smile, but a smile nonetheless. 

Sometimes he swore he caught her smiling too when he acted like he wasn't looking.

Alas, the ship was finally reconstructed to its original glory.

The Mandalorian took a deep breath and sat down in the pilots seat, staring down at the control panel. He took a moment before he began powering on the engine, his eyes lighting up beneath the helmet. 

The Razor Crest was one of the only things that has constantly been in his life and he wasn't ready to lose her. 

Myrah stood behind him with a wide smile, wrapping her arms tight around his shoulders out of pure excitement. He tensed, but soon relaxed in her embrace. Unfortunately, it left about as quick as it came. He was shocked to find himself disappointed at the loss.

After turning off the ship, he walked with the Ugnaught and Myrah down to the hatch of the ship. It was time for them to leave, which they were excited for, but a part of them would miss the deserted planet. 

"We can't thank you enough. Please allow us to give you a portion of the reward." The Mandalorian pleaded. He never thought he would have to beg someone to take money. 

"I cannot accept. You are my guests and I am therefore in your service." He smiled as he refused their kind offer. 

"You could be a great asset to our crew. I'm sure ol' Mando over here wouldn't mind paying for your service." She sent a wink to the Mandalorian.

"I am honored, but I have worked a lifetime to finally be free of servitude." 

"We understand." He rested a hand on Myrah's shoulder, pulling her behind him before she could say anything else. "Then all we can offer is our thanks."

"And I offer mine... Thank you for bringing peace to my valley." The Ugnaught began walking down the ramp and pulled himself onto his blurrg. "And good luck with The Child. May it survive and bring you both a handsome reward... I have spoken." 

The bounty hunters walked back to the cockpit in silence. Both of them struggled to come up with the words to say as they departed the planet. It felt like a part of them would remain here forever. 

The Mandalorian sat down in the pilots seat with the child's pod settling in the spot to his right. Myrah followed them with her arms folded across her chest. She tapped her foot aggressively while she stood behind the chair. 

"You're in my seat."

"What are you going to do about it?" He spoke softly, turning his seat around so he could look at her. Her mouth parted slightly as she struggled to come up with a witty comeback. He could feel his lips twitch into a smile at the sight.

"Kill me?" He proposed with a tilt of his head.

She took another step closer, placing her finger below the chin of his helmet. She leaned down and forced his head to follow her gaze. 

"You know I could." She whispered before she pulled away and sat down in the seat to his left, kicking her feet up on the panel. 

Any other witty remarks he had were caught in his throat. And here he thought he finally had the advantage on her. 

He started the engine and looked out the window to see the Ugnaught waving up to them. He gave him a short nod before pulling the Crest up into space. Myrah would miss Arvala-7, but there was nothing as beautiful as the infinite starry skies. 

The Mandalorian turned and shook the child's pod, hoping that it might open its big brown eyes, but there was nothing. Of course, as soon as he turned back to face the panel, the little alien awoke and slowly sat up in its spot.

Myrah smiled at it, petting its soft ear while she glanced back at the Mandalorian. 

"Back home?"

"Back home." 


	11. Chapter 11

# 10

* * *

It was so beautiful outside of the ship. Each star appeared to shine brighter than the other, although Mando corrected me a few times by telling me they were distant planets and moons. I never pegged him as someone who would know so much about the galaxy. He would even tell me the names of stars and the stories behind some of the constellations.

As much as I loved gazing out the window at the passing planets, there was one in particular that caused a sick feeling in my stomach.

Nevarro.

I used to love coming home to the gray planet, but now it was strange to me. I couldn't seem to recognize it anymore, at least not as my home. 

Mando's focus remained on the skies as we neared the planet, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was so much more than I imagined he would be, more than most Mandalorians. I didn't want our time together to end when it was just beginning.

The only sound in the ship was the control panel's beeping and whirring. We had been quiet for a while. I couldn't find the right words to say. I hated that I had grown so close to him. 

It made the goodbyes so much harder.

Mando moved his hand to press a button that lit the cockpit with a hologram of Greef Karga. My mouth went dry at the sight.

"Mando. I've received your transmission. Wonderful news. Upon your return, deliver the quarry directly to the client. I have no idea if he wants to eat it or hang it on his wall, but he's very antsy...And Mando? When you arrive...Could you please search for Myrah? I haven't seen her for a few days and I'm worried. I'm willing to pay anything if you find her... Safe passage! You know where to find me."

I gulped, trying to get the lump out of my throat as the image disappeared. I could hear him talking to the child as it tried to mess with his controls. I only hoped that perhaps it would lighten the mood.

"Mando, I-"

"You were running away?"

"Well, no. Not exactly."

He spun to face me and I quickly tried to turn away from him, but his hands landed firm on the arms of the chair to keep me from moving. I kept my gaze down on my hands, or, at least I tried to. He gently pinched my chin and pulled my head up to look at him. He made me feel weak.

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't running...I wanted to prove myself." 

He sighed and pulled his hand from my face, allowing his fingers to linger on my jaw a while longer. The delicate touch left goosebumps on my skin. 

"I can't go back." I whispered.

"What?"

"I have to leave once we're done. I've stuck around too long, I can't stay there any longer, I-" I jumped up, grasping his hands tight in mine. I was surprised when he didn't flinch or pull away. "Come with me! We make a great team. The possibilities are endless, we could become the best damn bounty hunters this galaxy has ever seen."

"Didn't you try to kill me less than a week ago?" He asked while rubbing small, soft circles on the back of my hands. The subtle action filled my stomach with butterflies.

"I didn't try to _kill_ you. I knocked you out and tied you to a chair... There is a big difference." I joked and pulled one hand free from his grasp to trace the lines on his helmet. The craftsmanship of the Mandalorians never failed to amaze me. 

I could hear his breath hitch as I ran my fingers over the curves of his helm. He quickly yanked his hands away from mine and took a step back, nearly stepping into the panel. My chest clenched and I could feel my cheeks grow warm from embarrassment. 

"Myrah..." He mumbled. "I can't."

It took me a moment to realize what he said, but once I did, it hit me like a speeder. 

"You're afraid..." I scoffed and tried to hide the pain. It was silly, childish, even, to ask him to run away with me. Still, a part of me hoped he would. "Kriff, I never thought I would see the day where a Mandalorian would act so- so-"

His head snapped towards me, apparently I had struck a nerve. "So _what_ , Myrah?"

"Weak! Pathetic! C-" I stopped myself before I could go too far.

"No, continue. What were you going to say?" He demanded and took a few steps closer, towering over me. 

"Cowardly." I hissed, immediately regretting my words. 

The air had been sucked from the ship. We stared, daring the other to make the next move. 

"Okay, Princess." He scoffed and turned away from me.

" _What_ did you just call me?" He was silent, trying to look busy while poking around at the controls. "You know _nothing_ about me." 

"I know enough!" He snapped and spun around to face me again. "I know that you would never have to work a day in your precious little life if you didn't want to. I know that you walk around and act like everyone and everything else is beneath you. And then you want to run away? Like your wonderful life isn't perfect enough for you?"

I could feel my eyes burn as I fought off the tears that threatened to fall from them. Still, he continued. 

"It doesn't take a genius to see that you don't care about what happens after this. You're just in it for the reputation and money."

"Wow." I scoffed and tilted my head back, trying to hide the tears that escaped my eyes. "You think you know everything, don't you?" I shook my head and looked back at him. Sometimes it was hard to argue with a chunk of metal. "You're _so_ smart, Mando. I should give you an award for how much you know about _my_ life. Guess what? You don't know shit...Just land the damn ship and get this over with."

* * *

Mando landed the Razor Crest on the gray, dusty terrain of Nevarro with ease. He was unbelievably calm even after our argument while I could still feel myself shake from the adrenaline. I guess I misunderstood our friendship, or, what I assumed was a friendship.

We all exited the ship in silence and began our journey into town. I tried my hardest to stand tall as we walked through the streets. Greef said the citizens here lived off of other people's sorrows. It was best to not show it at all.

I underestimated the intensity of the mission. It wasn't the average bounty, it was more underworld than what we usually did. Although, I didn't expect for us to have to travel down shady alleys to reach the client's 'hideout.' Something was very fishy about this mission. 

He knocked on the door and held up a card for the small round droid to scan. The door opened to reveal two stormtroopers armed with guns. The air had been knocked out of me.

Now I _knew_ there was something up with this client. 

I could feel that gross, sick feeling coming back when they herded us down the hall. They roughly grabbed onto the child's pod and yanked it behind them. I opened my mouth to speak, but Mando beat me to it. 

"Easy with that." 

"You take it easy." The trooper snapped back. 

We had finally reached the door that opened to reveal a large, cold, stone room. It was practically empty except for a desk in the center of it all with a balding old man behind it. His eyes lit up when we entered and he quickly strode towards us.

"Yes." He whispered. "Yes, yes, yes." 

He weirded me out. I found myself inching closer to Mando with every step he made. A young scientist came over and scanned the whimpering child with a bright red light.

"Your reputation was not unwarranted..." He grinned and looked towards me, his eyes narrowing. "And who is this?"

"I-"

"How many fobs did you give out?" Mando interrupted.

For once, I was thankful that he cut me off. I was worried that if I told them who I was, they would sweep me away as well. Greef never believed me when I told him that the Empire wasn't completely gone. I couldn't imagine his face if he witnessed this.

The client sighed. "This asset was of extreme importance to me. I had to ensure its delivery... But to the winner... Go the spoils."

He grabbed a large container and lifted it onto the desk to reveal its treasures. It contained more beskar than I had ever seen in my life. I wasn't even sure there was that much beskar left in the galaxy.

We moved towards the desk to admire the rewards. It was beautiful and more riches than I could have ever imagined, but I couldn't keep it.

I had no use for beskar and it belongs back in the hands of the Mandalorians. I had no place taking the reward at all. 

"Such a large bounty for such a small package." The client hissed.

A heart broken cry caught my attention from the other side of the room. While I was busy gaping over the payment, I had completely forgotten about the child. It cried again as it was brought into another room, refusing to take its eyes off of us. 

It hurt me to see it so sad.

I turned to see Mando watching the child intensely. Could he have been wondering the same thing I was? 

"What are your plans for it?" He asked. 

"How uncharacteristic of one of your reputation. You have taken both commission and payment... Is it not the Code of the Guild that these events are now forgotten? That beskar is enough to make a handsome replacement for your armor."

My eyes darted across his armor. It was rather beat up and seeing its harsh damage, I assumed it wasn't too durable. A full suit of beskar was fitting for his job, but I would miss his old, rusty fit. 

"Unfortunately, finding a Mandalorian in these trying times is more difficult than finding the steel." The client finished and with a stern glare. 

I quickly tore my gaze away from him, occasionally glancing at Mando out of the corner of my eyes. His focus was stuck on the client for a moment longer before he grabbed the reward and we left. 

The stormtroopers followed us the entire way out, making me feel incredibly uneasy. Again, I found myself moving closer to Mando and immediately scolding myself for it. 

"I have to make a quick stop... I'll meet you at the bar in an hour." He looked down at the container of beskar with a soft, sad tone to his voice. I guess he _was_ going to get an upgrade. 

"Right... Listen, Mando, I-"

"We'll talk later." He ended quickly and spun on his heel to leave. 

I wanted to run after him, but he was already out of sight. I needed to apologize or just, _something_. I wasn't sure why I needed him to know that I didn't hate him. If anything, I should just forget he exists and move on with my life.

But I couldn't.

And little did I know, I wouldn't.


	12. Chapter 12

# 11

* * *

I was growing tired of waiting around and doing nothing. There's only so much you can do in Nevarro and within ten minutes, I was already bored. 

I suppose I could pay Mando and the others a visit. It had been a while since I visited the covert and now was a better time than ever. I'm sure they wouldn't have _too_ much of a problem with me visiting.

They were never good with hiding the location of the covert. In fact, it was almost comical how out in the open it was. I guess no one here really cared.

I could hear voices while I walked down the grimy halls. Few people cast glances my way, most nodding or waving. 

"Our strength was once in our numbers. Now we live in the shadows and only come above ground one at a time... Our world was shattered by the Empire, with whom this coward shares tables." 

There was the voice again. I followed, hoping to find something interesting while I was down here. 

I walked into the armory to see Mando whip a knife from his boot and swipe it against a bulkier Mandalorian's chest plate, quickly resulting in a brawl between the two. I should have known that if anyone were to get in a fight here, it would be him. 

"Watch it, fellas." I smiled to myself, slowly approaching the group.

The two froze, knives held at each other's throats. 

"Wouldn't want to lose another, would we?" I could feel the confusion radiating off of Mando. 

He slowly lowered his knife, taking a small step towards me. "How the hell did you-"

"The Empire was taken down years ago." I interrupted. We both had a nasty habit of doing that. "Your precious beskar has been returned. There's no reason for your little cat fight." 

The bulkier Mandalorian pushed Mando back as he strolled towards me, his voice laced with humor. "And just what do you think you're doing here, miss Myrah?"

"I'm just visiting." I sent him a quick wink and shrug.

"I for one am certainly glad you came by." He chuckled, his eyes raking over me as I walked past him, towards the armorer.

"Myrah Koor... You know that you are not supposed to be here." She looked down at me as she spoke. Her tone was soft, almost endearing. 

"Well, I have some business to attend to." I beamed. "Plus, I have someone I need to talk to..." I glanced over my shoulder at Mando but he quickly looked away.

"I see... Hurry up, then." 

Mando continued to divert his attention away from me. If I didn't know any better, I would say he resembled a stubborn child.

I sighed and walked towards his seat with his back to me. I could feel him tense beneath my hand as it landed on his shoulder.

"I'll be waiting outside. Don't take too long." I whispered and leaned towards his helmet. His head turned ever so slightly and that was enough for me to know that he was listening. 

I sent a salute to the others before I ascended up the staircase to wait for who knows how long. I missed that place and all of the friends I had made. People say that the code of the Mandalorians makes them distant and cold, but really, it makes them a family.

It had been another half an hour when Mando pushed back the curtain to the covert's entrance. The clouds had finally parted for the sun to shine down on the planet. 

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I certainly did not expect for him to be clad head-to-toe in shiny new beskar. The light bounced off of it perfectly and I'm pretty sure he was well aware of it too. He took his time walking towards me, confidence filling his strides.

"I like the new get-up." My lips quirked up in a nervous smile. He remained silent as he approached me, my eyes catching on something shiny in his hands. "What's that?"

"She told me to give you these." He mumbled and held out the shiny vambraces.

My eyes lit up and I quickly snatched the armor from his hands, struggling to strap them on. His fingers gently wrapped around my wrists, helping me pull the metal around my forearms. 

It was such a subtle gesture that would have come across completely normal a few hours ago, but now, it hurt. Every small brush of his hand lit my arm on fire and for that, I hated him. He let me trust him and listened as I opened up to him just so he could walk away. 

"What were you doing down there?"

"You were taking too long."

"Why did they let you down there?"

"Not now." 

I glanced around to make sure we weren't drawing too much attention. Once the coast was clear, I tried to push past him, but I was quickly pulled back with his hand tight around my arm. 

"No. I need to know _now_. How did they know who you were?"

"They're just old friends." I hissed. "You wouldn't know what that's like."

His grip tightened a bit before he let go of my arm. He continued to hold his head high and proud, but there was something about the air around us that made me think he was feeling the exact opposite. 

"Let's go." 

He turned around sharply and began walking towards the bar. I trailed behind him, not too far, but enough to act like I wasn't associated with him. At least until we arrived.

Everyone in the bar turned when the door opened, each one wearing a unique but furious glare. I excused their looks as they were shocked by Mando's new appearance, but I know they were equally shocked to see me with him. I was practically on display.

Greef stood as soon as we entered and immediately picked me up in a warm hug. I could feel Mando's eyes on us until I was set back down on the ground. 

We all filed into the booth in an awkward silence. Everyone in the bar continued to glare at our table, angry looks on all of their faces. 

"They all hate you, Mando. Because you're a legend!" Greef kept his voice quiet.

"How many of them had tracking fobs?"

Greef scoffed. "All of them. All of them! But not one of them closed the deal. Only you, Mando. Only you... And with it, the richest reward this parsec has ever seen. They're all weighing the beskar in their minds, but not me. No. I, for one, I celebrate your success. Because it is my success as well. Hell! Even I am rich." 

He showed his plate of beskar to us, flaunting his new found riches. 

"Now, how can I show my gratitude to my most valuable partner?"

"It wasn't me."

"What?" Both Greef and I spoke at the same time, our eyes locking with him. 

"It wasn't me. It was Myrah. She found the kid and put as much, if not more effort in the mission. _She_ deserves your gratitude. _I_ want my next job."

"Well, this is a surprise... Myrah, how did you even get there?" He turned to look at me, eyes wide with confusion and surprise. 

"If you really want to know, I snuck-"

"I offered her a ride. You talk about her a lot and I knew she deserved this sort of job." Mando nodded, casting me a quick glance.

"Huh...I guess you both should take some time off, then. Enjoy yourselves." He grinned and leaned towards Mando. "I'll take you to the Twi'lek healing baths..." 

"I want my next job."

"Sure. Fine. You hunters like to keep busy, right? Well, these are all far away." Greef shook out a bag of pucks, slightly disappointed that Mando didn't want to hang out with him.

"The further, the better."

My head shot up at that with my eyes narrowing on him. " _What_?" I whispered.

"Well, take your pick. You've earned it."

I shifted in my seat, trying to seem taller and more confident than I was. "Why do you want to get away, Mando?" 

He quickly turned to look at me. "I don't think I have to explain myself to you."

Greef chuckled and placed his hand firm on my shoulder. "Now, now, Myrah. I know how you feel about the Mandalorian, but look at the riches he's brought us!"

That's the irony of it. He doesn't know how I feel about the 'Mandalorian' at all. I used to think I hated him, yes, but a couple of hours ago I was asking him to leave everything behind and run away with me. 

Kriff, that was a mistake. 

"Ah. That's the best one of the lot." Greef's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Nobleman's son skipped bail. Looks like you're headed to the ocean dunes of the Karnac..." He laughed as Mando pocketed the puck. "And here is the reward for Myrah." He spoke as he tossed a pouch of credits across the table. 

"Any idea what they're gonna do with it?"

"With what?"

"The kid."

I was wondering the same thing, if I'm going to be honest. Except I had planned on waiting until he left to ask. I didn't think he cared about the child as much as I did. As usual, I was wrong. 

Greef sighed and looked up at him. "I didn't ask. It's against the Guild Code."

"They work for the Empire. What are they doing here?"

"You sound exactly like Myrah. Always getting into business that isn't yours. The Empire is gone, Mando. All that are left are mercenaries and warlords."

"No, he's right. There were stormtroopers and-"

"Myrah." He scolded. "If it bothers you, just go back to the Core and report them to the New Republic."

Mando scoffed. "That's a joke."

"Mando, enjoy your rewards. Buy a camtono of spice. Go hang around with a nice girl and do... whatever you do, I guess. By the time you come out of hyperdrive, you will have forgotten all about it."

He gave me one last nod before he left. There were so many things left unsaid and it pained me to see him leave like that. I just hoped it wouldn't be the last time I'd see him.

"So, you went _with_ the Mandalorian?" Greef asked with raised eyebrows. 

"It's not important."

"I can't believe you were so willing to be next to Mando. I mean, he is the reason you were all upset anyway."

"He isn't _so_ bad. Just rough around the edges. Hell of a fighter though..." I smiled to myself, reminiscing of our time on Arvala-7. "But he is a pain in the ass." I sighed and turned my head away from him. "I can't stay here."

"What?"

I quickly stood up and ran towards the exit to the bar. "I have to fix something!"

I wanted to explain more, but I was scared of what he would say or do if I told him the truth about what I was going to do. Greef cared about me, I was well aware of that, but this was something I wasn't sure he would ever forgive me for.

I ran through the village until I found myself at the entrance to the client's hideout, desperately trying to catch my breath.

I was getting the kid back if it was the last thing I'd do.


	13. Chapter 13

# 12

* * *

Myrah snuck towards the entrance only to find the droid camera snapped off and the door wide open. Someone else had already been there and if she stuck around any longer, she would be in deep trouble. 

She moved along the side of the building, towards the back entrance. Her eyes locked on the child's small white pod that was carelessly tossed into the dumpster. Her heart ached at the sight, but she continued on.

It was quite the surprise to her when she found the Mandalorian standing at the back wall, placing a round gadget against it. She assumed he was long gone. 

"Mando?!" She asked, her jaw going slack as her gaze settled on him. 

He quickly spun around as the object began beeping and flashing red. "Myrah?" 

He cast a quick glance back at the wall as the beeping grew faster. Before it exploded, his arm wrapped around her torso and pulled her into him as he stepped behind a nearby wall to avoid the blast.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered through gritted teeth. Although, she had to admit she was happy to see him. 

"I'm here for the child. What are you doing?" He stared down at her and held her close, barely speaking above a whisper to avoid being caught. 

"I guess we had the same idea." She glared at him with her face only inches away from his helmet. An alarm began blaring from inside the building, alerting the two hunters. "We're doing this together, I guess."

"I thought that was what you wanted." He teased as he stepped away and led them into the gaping hole in the wall. 

Two stormtroopers had begun searching the area, shining flashlights through the rubble to find the intruders. There were two shots fired and the troopers fell to the ashy ground as the bounty hunters stood behind them with their blasters raised.

There was more chatter behind the door and the two immediately moved to hide once again. The Mandalorian glanced down at Myrah to find her blaster tucked away in her holster with her hands wrapped around the metal hilt that always stuck at her side. It was an odd weapon, but he was constantly intrigued to see what she would do with it.

The entrance to the room opened again with another stormtrooper filing out. Myrah quietly moved out of the hiding spot with the weapon raised. In one sharp swing, it hit the trooper across the head with a thunk and knocked him to the ground.

Myrah scoffed and slipped the hilt onto its clip while grabbing her blaster. She raised her hand again and fired a shot into the back of his head just for good measure. Her face remained stoic and expressionless.

The Mandalorian was completely bewildered by her actions and found himself unable to take his eyes off of her. They hadn't even spent an hour apart, but it felt like centuries since he had seen her last. The realization came slowly, but once it hit, it hit hard. 

He _missed_ her.

Not just seeing her sitting across from him at a bar or watching her from across the covert, but her witty remarks and skilled fighting that reminded him of himself. He missed the girl that could go from compassionate and endearing to deadly and hostile in a matter of seconds. 

"What?" Myrah snapped, bringing him out of his own world of thoughts.

He contemplated telling her, but he couldn't. For one, it wasn't the right time, and two, he didn't want to admit it. 

"Nothing. Lets go." 

The two stopped dead in their tracks, kneeling close to the ground when they spotted another stormtrooper guarding the door. The Mandalorian shot a thin grapple around the trooper's neck and pulled him in their direction. As the trooper flew back, he landed directly on the knife that the Mandalorian held in his hand. 

Myrah's eyes widened, but she nodded in approval before they moved onto the previously guarded door. The Mandalorian used his blaster and shot the keypad, forcing the door open. 

Just as it released, a blaster fired and hit the Mandalorian in the pauldron. Before he could react, Myrah had already shot down the stormtrooper. 

"No, no, no, no, please. No. No, no. No. Please. Please don't hurt him. It's just a child." The scientist pleaded as they approached him with their blasters raised. "Please. No. No! Please." 

The Mandalorian threw him to the ground and kept his gun trained on the desperate man. Myrah's attention shifted towards what looked like a small conveyor belt. The child rested with the machine strapped to its little frail body.

"What did you do?" She groaned and turned to face the cowering man on the ground. 

"I protected him! I protected him. If it wasn't for me, he would already be dead. Please!" 

The man continued to beg for his life while the hunters grabbed the child and escaped without making a sound. He was confused to say the least, but glad he was alive. 

As they continued on through the maze of a building, they came across a large storage room, full of boxes and different containments. The Mandalorian held the relaxed child in his arms, pulling a blanket over its head.

"Let's try to get out of here without having to kill anymore troopers, got it? We got the kid and we don't need all that-" 

Myrah was interrupted by stormtroopers entering from every door, pointing their guns at the three of them. They quickly ducked and moved behind a stack of boxes, effectively hiding from the troopers.

"Split up. We'll flush them out." One of them spoke.

"Copy." 

Their flashlights lit the dim room as they searched for the group. Myrah found herself holding her breath as one of them inched closer and closer to where they hid. 

"Give it up. There's nowhere to-"

The Mandalorian stood and knocked the gun out of the trooper's hands. He grabbed the back of his neck and tossed him into a nearby pile of boxes while another stormtrooper ran towards them with his gun raised. He was reading his fire towards the Mandalorian when Myrah grabbed the back of his armor and threw him into the containers. 

"Hey!" Myrah shouted, alerting the Mandalorian. 

He tossed Myrah his rifle as she jabbed the butt of it into the final stormtrooper's chest, sending electric shocks through his body. The two sighed and shared a quick look before she handed him back the rifle.

"Still got to teach me how to shoot with it." She spoke with a smile.

He shook his head and walked past her into yet another hallway. They were soon cornered with two stormtroopers entering on opposite sides of the hall. The Mandalorian instantly ignited his flame thrower while Myrah shot down the other.

"That's all you got?" The Mandalorian teased with a tilt of his head.

"You're walking on thin ice, buddy." 

They shuffled into another vast room, the room containing their door to freedom. Finally, they were able to get away without creating _too_ much of a mess. Just then, four stormtroopers charged through the doors, closing off all possible exits.

"Freeze! Put your hands up! Drop the blasters!" They demanded.

"Whoa, wait. We can talk this out, guys." Myrah smiled and slowly raised her hands.

"What I'm holding is very valuable... Here." The Mandalorian lowered himself to a kneel, setting the gun and child down on the ground. 

Myrah followed his movements, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. At this point, she had no choice but to trust him. She only hoped that he had a plan.

With a slight flick of his wrist, he activated the whistling birds within his vambrace. The bullets flew through the air and the stormtroopers hit the ground as the bullets punctured their suits. 

The Mandalorian scooped the child back up into his arms while Myrah fetched their weapons from the ground.

"Whistling birds?" She raised an eyebrow and stepped towards him, placing his blaster in its holster.

He nodded, watching her intensely, noting every move she made. She offered him a small smile and spun around, glad to finally be leaving that horrid building. 

They walked down the alleys of Nevarro, trying to avoid any lurking eyes. Myrah shifted towards the Mandalorian, almost hiding behind him. Every muscle in her body was tense and it was rather obvious that something wasn't quite right.

"Act casual." He whispered.

"They're following us." She mumbled as her hand moved to hover over her blaster.

More and more people gradually surrounded them, holding blasters tight in their grips. Then, there was the sound of tracking fobs that grew louder and louder by the second. 

"Welcome back, Mando-" Greef emerged from the shadows. "Myrah..." He spoke with a heartbroken whisper. "Put the package down."

"Step aside, we're going to his ship." Myrah snapped, gripping the handle of her gun. 

Greef chuckled. "Put the bounty down and perhaps I'll let you two pass."

"The kid's coming with me." The Mandalorian spoke much calmer than the other two. 

"If you truly care about the kid, then you'll put it on the speeder and we'll discuss terms."

The Mandalorian hesitated and hugged the bundle closer to his chest. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Greef scoffed and shook his head. "Because I'm your only hope."

"Don't-" Myrah gently grasped his arm, her sad eyes peering up into the helmet.

He looked down at the cooing child, then at Myrah, his entire demeanor relaxing when he looked at the two. 

"Watch out." He whispered to her.

Myrah's brows furrowed, but before she could say anymore, he turned and fired his blaster at the nearby hunters while Myrah whipped out her gun, following his actions.

He threw himself onto a speeder and laid flat on his back. Myrah shot down a few more before she, too, hopped up on the speeder and laid next to him.

"You're all for dramatics, aren't you?" She joked breathlessly.

"Not now." He growled as the bounty hunters began firing at the sides of the speeder, hoping to land a shot or two. 

Myrah covered for the Mandaloiran, firing back at the bounty hunters while he rolled onto his stomach to speak with the speeder droid.

"Drive." He demanded. It beeped and refused his command until he sighed and held his blaster to the droid. "Drive!" 

With the much less polite request, the droid began to move the speeder towards the town exit. Both hunters shot at the others as they moved, seeming to escape the battle. Right when they thought they were home-free, the vehicle crashed and everything around went silent.

There was nothing moving near the speeder and at first, everyone was sure they were dead. At least, until they began disintegrating into nothing shot after shot. The rest of the hunters ran and hid behind whatever they could, fearing they could be next.

"That's one impressive weapon!" Greef shouted.

Myrah rolled her eyes and looked over at the Mandalorian that had his rifle poking out from behind the walls. Since the day they met, he had never seen her show any sort of fear. Now, her eyes were full of it. He never wanted to see that look again.

"Here's what I'll do. I'm gonna walk to my ship _with_ the kid and Myrah... And you're gonna let it happen." 

"No. How about this? We take the kid and my daughter and if you try to stop us, we kill you and we strip your body for parts."

Myrah groaned and kicked a sneaky bounty hunter in the face while another popped up and hit the Mandalorian's chest plate with their blaster. She quickly fired her blaster at them, knocking them to the ground in an instant. 

"Don't hit the target!" Greef called out to the guild.

The members began closing in on the speeder. The Mandalorian sat up and shot the flames from his vambrace out at the crowd, but it began dying out. 

He sighed and laid back again, glancing at Myrah. "Why don't you use yours?" He pointed towards her small piece of armor that closely resembled his. 

"There's no theatrics with these." She hissed and sat up, firing a few shots out at them. Her eyes widened when the crowd of hunters began moving in on them once again.

The Mandalorian grabbed her and pulled her back down, holding her and the child beneath him as he used himself to shield them from the onslaught of the hunters' fire. Myrah's breathing began to slow as she closed her eyes, accepting the fact that this could be the end. 

There was one more _trick_ of sorts up her sleeve, but she wasn't about to give herself up quite yet.

A loud whistle flew overhead, distracting the swarm of bounty hunters. The two lifted their heads to see a crowd of Mandalorians in the air, firing at the surrounding hunters.

One of them landed next to the three of them, firing rapid shots into the crowd. "Get out of here! We'll hold them off!"

"You're going to have to relocate the covert." The Mandalorian spoke, helping Myrah sit up.

"This is the Way."

"This is the Way." He responded thankfully.

Myrah smiled and scooped the child in her arms, mouthing a 'thank you' at the bulkier Mandalorian before they ran towards the Razor Crest. They let out a relieved sigh as they walked up the ramp, oblivious to Greef climbing down from behind them.

"Hold it, Mando." They both turned to see Greef pointing a blaster at the Mandalorian. "I didn't want it to come to this. But then you broke the Code. And you..." He turned to Myrah. "You broke my trust."

While Greef was focused on Myrah, the Mandalorian shot his grapple at the buttons on the wall, filling the area with fog. Greef fired random shots in the area, searching for the Mandalorian. 

"Myrah, I'm sorry-" He apologized before he was knocked off of the ramp of the ship with a blaster shot to the chest. 

"So am I." Myrah whispered, holding out her blaster in his direction. Her lip trembled slightly when she re-holstered her gun and traveled up to the cockpit.

The ship began lifting off of the ground and soared into the air gracefully. The Mandalorian glanced out the window to find one of his fellow Mandalorians flying beside them. He sent them a brief salute before he dove back towards the ground to rejoin the battle. 

"I gotta get one of those." Mando joked and turned towards the cooing child, handing him the small ball on his lever. Myrah let out a soft chuckle and sunk against the wall, holding her knees to her chest. 

"Where to?"


	14. Chapter 14

# 13

* * *

It was dark in the cockpit, but the stars outside shined brighter because of it. I followed the patterns the best I could, trying to remember the constellations that Mando had told me about. That night we shared so many stories, most weren't ours, but they were still nice.

I told him a story of a young girl. She was ripped from her family as an infant, raised to be a powerful warrior. They told her that one day, she would be the strongest of them all, that no person could ever match her power. In order to keep that power, however, she had to block herself off from the world.

She could no longer dance in the storms, prank her friends, or even fall in love. But it was too late for all of that.

They criticized her emotions, taunted her and claimed she could never meet her true potential. So, she left. For a long time, she battled her inner demons. Being alone with her thoughts, she struggled to keep them at bay.

She fought her darkness her entire life. In the end, she gave up her life for the greater good. 

Mando compared it to the Creed. He wasn't too far off, really. They were similar in many ways. But there was something else to his reaction. A sadness of sorts. Perhaps a realization that him and the girl were not too different. 

When I told him how the girl was reunited with her love in the end, there was a light. He radiated this warm energy that filled the ship with joy.

Him and the girl truly weren't that different at all. 

The little green child sat on the control panel next to Mando, cooing quietly and pressing the buttons on the box next to him. I likely should have warned him, but the little guy was so cute, I couldn't help but just sit back and watch. It pressed a small green button and quietly looked around when nothing happened. 

"Stop touching things." Mando instructed, not paying too much attention to the curious child. I giggled quietly from my seat, continuing to watch the tiny thing. 

I looked at him as he blinked his big brown eyes. How could you possibly stay upset with something so unbelievably cute.

His ears perked up and he slyly moved his arm towards the box again, flicking a red switch that caused the entire ship to shake. Mando immediately reached over and turned it off, grabbing the child and placing him in his lap.

I leaned forward and rubbed the kid's fuzzy green ear while he whined. Glancing up at Mando, I tried to watch for any reaction, but there was nothing. He refused to even turn his head towards me. 

"Let's see... Sorgan." Ah, so _now_ he speaks. "Looks like there's no star port, no industrial centers, no population density. Real backwater skug hole. Which means it's perfect for us...You ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple of months, you little womp rat? Nobody's gonna find us here." 

He set the child down in the seat to his right. I assumed it was to get him out of the way, but it was such a soft gesture that it brought a little smile to my face. 

Mando swirled in his chair to face me, his eyes boring into mine from behind the helmet. At least, that's what it felt like. I really hated not being able to read his face. Of course, I could sense his emotions if I wanted to, but it was almost like violating his privacy.

"What? Can't keep your eyes off me?" I teased and leaned forward in my seat. 

He scoffed. "Whatever you say, Princess."

My breath hitched and my face grew red from anger. "Keep calling me that and just see what happens." 

So much for getting along again.

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

We managed to find a small clearing of the forest to land. I had never seen such a beautiful sight before. While Mando powered down the Crest, I gawked at the land before me, wondering what the lush grass would feel like. 

I've seen greenery before, but never to this extent and not for a long, long time. It was incredibly difficult to not run out and embrace the nature of the planet.

"Listen." Mando sighed and stood up, facing the child. "We're gonna go out and look around."

I was practically shaking with excitement, ready to go outside to actually see everything. Although, I was surprised that he was voluntarily bringing me along. I figured there would be some argument to be had.

"It shouldn't take too long." He continued. "No, don't touch anything. We'll find some lodging and come back for you. _You_ stay right here." He pointed to the child, his voice firm. "You _stay_. Don't move. You understand?"

The child whimpered a response.

"Great."

I left towards the hatch with Mando not far behind me. "Any idea where we're headed?" I said as I pressed the button beside me to lower the ramp to the ground.

"Aren't you the one who knows everything?" 

There was a quiet coo that broke the short, tense silence between us. I could see Mando turn to look at me out of the corner of my eye. 

"It wasn't me." I pointed down at the ground between us where the child now stood, gazing up at us.

He sighed deeply and shook his head, looking between me and the child. "Oh, what the hell? Come on."

We walked through the trees with the child waddling behind us. I struggled to take my eyes off of the gorgeous plants. They reached out to me and I could feel myself drawn to the place as we spent more time here.

The last thing I needed was to get stuck on another planet. 

We walked in silence until we came across a small village filled with huts. All the locals gathered in a spacious restaurant of sorts, talking and drinking with one another.

On second thought, I wouldn't mind getting stuck here. 

We found ourselves a small table at the back. While Mando stared dead ahead, my attention was immediately drawn to a young woman on the other side of the building, staring at us. Her hair was dark and short and she wore a rebel tattoo proudly on her arm. 

You didn't see many of those anymore. 

Mando helped the child onto a stool before he sat himself down on one next to me "What are you all tense about?" He glanced around before his gaze settled on me.

I nodded towards the stranger, trying to not alert her. "That woman-"

"Welcome, travelers. Can I interest you in anything?" A middle-aged waitress came over, interrupting me with a big smile on her face. 

"Bone broth, for the little one." Mando spoke, his voice calm and collected as usual. 

"Oh, well, you're in luck. I just took down a grinjer, so there's plenty. Can I interest either one of you in a porringer of broth as well?"

"Yes, one for-" He started, gesturing towards me.

"No thanks. The one is fine." I stopped him, not feeling very hungry with a possible threat on the lovely planet. 

"Very well."

I nodded again towards the rebel woman. "That woman over there. When did she arrive?" 

"I've seen her here for the last week or so."

"What's her business here?" Mando questioned, finally noticing the suspicious woman.

"Business? Oh, well, there's not much business in Sorgan, so I can't say." She chuckled. 

I tossed a small pouch of credits onto the table as I leaned against it. Mando looked over at me, then at his cross-body belt, quickly realizing that his credits were no longer there.

"She doesn't strike me as a log runner. Well, thank you, ma'am. I will get that broth to you as soon as possible, and I will throw in a flagon of spotchka just for good measure. I will be right back with that." The waitress smiled before turning and leaving to fetch the broth.

I looked over towards where the woman once sat, only to find it empty. "She's gone." 

I tried to stand, but I was pushed back into my seat by Mando's hand on my shoulder. I scowled and tried to stand again, but of course, was forced back down. 

"Stay here. I'm going to look for her."

"But-"

"Stay. Here." He stood up and tossed a credit to the waitress. "Keep an eye on them." He demanded before swiftly leaving the building.

I groaned and ran my hands over my face. Did he not trust me to go after her? I mean, I _am_ the one who caught sight of her in the first place. Besides, I can take care of myself if anything were to happen. He knows that.

I couldn't bring myself to sit here any longer. As soon as the waitress returned with the broth and spotchka, I left. Mando had no right to tell me to stay put, especially if he was putting himself in danger. 

There were a few grunts and the sound of fire crackling from behind a couple huts. _Of course_ his first reaction would be to get in a fight.

I followed the sound, coming across the woman flipping Mando onto his back. They rolled on the ground until they both came to a sudden halt, pointing their blasters at one another. 

The sound of the child slurping his broth caught the attention of the two on the ground. I could hear Mando's exhausted sigh once his gaze landed on me. 

"I told you to stay back there."

"And how many times do I have to tell _you_ that you can't tell me what to do?" I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped by foot against the ground. 

He glanced over at the woman that held a gun to his head. "You want some soup?"

* * *

The rebel woman, whose name we learned is Cara, sat with us in the hut, sipping a bowl of broth. She had been going on about her time as a fighter and while it was interesting, I couldn't hold back the irritation I had towards Mando. 

I played with the child, avoiding being brought into any sort of conversation. Although, I do recall Cara saying 'I like her' while they were whispering when we first came in. _That_ made me smile. 

"How'd you end up here?" Mando asked her. 

"Let's just call it an early retirement." Cara sipped her broth. "Look, I knew you two were Guild. I figured you had a fob on me. That's why I came at you so hard."

"Yeah, that's what I figured." He shifted in his seat, his posture straightening.

"Well, this has been a real treat, but unless you wanna go another round, one of us is gonna have to move on," she stood and finished off her soup, "and I was here first." She shrugged and set the bowl down on the table, leaving without another word. 

"Well, looks like this planet's taken." Mando turned towards me, gently nudging my elbow as he spoke. "Myrah?" 

Nope. 

"Myrah, come on." I refused, keeping my focus on the giggling child. "Are you going to stay mad at me forever?"

I took a deep breath and tried to keep messing with the green baby. "Are you going to act like a dick forever?" I snapped back. 

In all honesty, I didn't want to be upset with him. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon. 

He shook his head and sighed, clearly irritated. "Oh, will you get over yourself?" 

"I'm not the one who got all butt hurt just because someone tried to help them-"

"I didn't _need_ help, Myrah. I was fine on my own. I didn't need you in the first place. You intruded on _my_ mission."

That hurt.

No, that was more than hurt. I knew it was his mission, I knew he never asked for me, but to hear him say it made it so much worse. 

He didn't need me. 

"Whatever... Let's just go back to the ship." I quickly left the hut with my head held high. I couldn't let him know that he had gotten to me. 

I wished that I could just hide behind a helmet like he could. 


	15. Chapter 15

# 14

* * *

Mando insisted that we had to leave and find a new planet to hide out on, but that was ridiculous. This is a big planet, we could easily find a spot away from Cara and not get in her way. Besides, I wasn't ready to leave just yet.

"Just where exactly do you propose we go?" I shouted and followed him as he walked around the ship. He was so stubborn and stuck in his ways. He wouldn't even listen to what I had to say.

"I don't know." He mumbled, his back facing me as he continued his trek around the ship. It was simply busy work to try and brush me off.

My face was growing red from anger, burning my skin. We had been arguing about this for nearly an hour and I was sick and tired of him ignoring me.

"Mando, stop and talk to me!"

I reached out and grabbed his wrist, tugging him back. I may have pulled him harder than I meant to because I certainly didn't expect him to spin around with such force. 

His body pushed mine back and we both stood, pressed against the wall of the ship with his helmet only a few inches from my face. We both took in a sharp breath as we looked at one another. At least, that's what I could assume.

My fingers were still wrapped tight around his wrist while his other hand stabilized himself on the ship. Our breathing fell in sync, our chests so close that if we had both taken a deep enough breath, they would have touched. Neither one of us made any effort to move or made any sound, but I assumed we were thinking the same thing.

It was strange to be so close, but at the same time, it was natural. His body was warm and I could smell the leather of his gloves mixed with a subtle pine that I assumed was from the trees. 

"We-" My voice was breathy and quiet. "We need to make a plan before we just take off."

"We do..." His voice trailed off into silence. The sound of insects buzzing filled the dimly lit area.

My harsh glare softened and I lifted my free hand to his chest plate, running my fingers over the handcrafted lines. 

"Mando, I-"

"Excuse me." A voice spoke up from the trees. 

"Excuse me, sir." Another voice perked up. 

We practically jumped at the sound of the strangers voices. Mando stepped a few feet away from me, brushing off... _whatever_ just happened.

"There- uh- there something I can help you with?" He stumbled out his words before facing the ship again, messing with a few random stray wires. I must say, him stuttering was something I _never_ expected to hear.

"Uh, yeah. Raiders." The first one spoke again, moving closer to us. Once in the light, I could finally get a good look at them. They looked naive and dressed in an assortment of blue garments.

Farmers was my guess.

"We have money."

"So, you think I'm some kinda mercenary?" Mando's voice was harsh and guarded.

"Actually we think you're both mercenaries."

My eyebrows raised as I turned to face the farmers with my arms crossed. _Mercenaries_? That's a funny joke. We were hardly hunters anymore. 

"You're wearing Mandalorian armor. That is Mandalorian armor, right?" The farmer spoke, approaching Mando again while he focused on the ship.

"It is." He grumbled and began walking towards me. I flashed him a sly grin, trying to hold back a laugh as he tried to get rid of the two.

"Ah, a man of few words." I teased.

He walked closer to me, practically cornering me against the wall again. His helmet lowered to meet my face, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. Now it made sense when everyone spoke about his 'intimidating presence.' 

"Watch it." He whispered harshly, only for me to hear.

"Sir, I've read a lot about your people- er- uh...Tribe." The farmers persisted, chasing Mando as he walked away from me. "If half of what I read is true-"

"We have money."

"How much?" I perked up as soon as I had collected my nerves and walked towards the three.

"Everything we have, ma'am." The farmer spoke, his eyes dancing over me. If I wasn't interested in the money, I swear I would have knocked him so hard his head would spin. "Our whole harvest was stolen."

"How upsetting." I spoke with a hint of sarcasm to my voice.

"Our whole village chipped in." His voice was desperate as he frantically held out a small pouch of credits towards me. It was hardly enough for rations.

I glanced at the farmer's face, then at the pouch, cocking an eyebrow and tilting my head. "You really think that's enough?"

"You don't even know what the job is." The farmers pleaded. 

I shrugged. "I've done worse for a lot more than that." I sent a wink to the farmers with a smirk growing on my face.

I could feel Mando's eyes staring down at me. I hoped that he wasn't planning on asking any questions about that later. That was something I _definitely_ did not want to talk about with him.

"This is everything we have. We'll give you more after the next harvest-"

The ramp hissed loudly as it lowered to the ground. Mando stood by the controls, staring down the farmers. I didn't want to leave and while they didn't have the funds, I had hoped that maybe these farmers could offer us something, some reason to stay here.

"Took us the whole day to get here. Now we have to ride back with no protection to the middle of nowhere." The farmers mumbled. 

There it was. 

Both of us froze and turned at those words. I could feel the corners of my mouth lift into another smile.

"Where do you live?" Mando spoke, his voice lifting in borderline enthusiasm.

"On a farm. Weren't you listening?"

"In the middle of nowhere?" I practically skipped down the ramp, stopping in front of the wide-eyed farmers.

"Yes." One said, looking me over again. At this point, I didn't even care.

"And a place for us to stay?" My voice was becoming more chirper the more they spoke about this oasis of a place. I was overjoyed that we wouldn't have to leave.

"Yeah. Absolutely!"

"You can stay with m-"

"Good." Mando interrupted. "Come up and help." He led them up into the Razor Crest to gather supplies.

I could not wipe the smile off of my face. We were _staying_ and things between Mando and I were improving. This planet would work in our favor.

* * *

I couldn't decide whether recruiting Cara would be a really good or really bad idea. On one hand, she would be a great help in fighting off whatever raiders there were, but on the other hand, weren't we about to leave the planet because we didn't want to draw in too much attention?

It's likely just a couple of pirates and these farmers couldn't defend themselves. At least, that's what I hoped it was. Anything more and we'd be screwed.

We slowly approached a small fire within the trees, hoping that it was Cara. Who else would be crazy enough to sleep out in the middle of nowhere except for an ex-rebel fighter.

She leaned against a tree with her eyes shut in what appeared to be a peaceful sleep. I think Mando and I both knew better than to assume she let her guard down. He tossed the pouch of credits next to her, causing her to point her blaster in our direction with her eyes narrowed.

"Ready for round two?" Mando joked. 

Cara looked down at the pouch with a grin before she stood and stomped out the fire while we explained what we were doing. We led her towards the slightly crowded speeder that the farmers offered.

Unfortunately, it was all we had.

Mando and I kept to one side of the speeder while Cara rested against the other. Our faces were lit by a small yellow light that was swarmed with bugs buzzing around. For a while, everyone was quiet, embracing the wonderful silence of the forest.

"So, we're basically running off a band of Raiders for lunch money?" Cara chuckled.

"They're quartering us in the middle of nowhere." Mando's tired voice spoke, his modulator emphasizing his exhaustion.

I shrugged and leaned back against the edge of the speeder. "Pretty sure that's a sweet deal for someone in your shoes...Certainly beats a patch of ground in the middle of the forest."

"Worst case scenario, you tune up your blaster. Best case, we're a deterrent. I can't imagine there's anything living in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldn't handle."

Cara turned towards Mando with a slight smirk as he relaxed, stretching his arms over the back of the vehicle. His fingers brushed against my shoulder which caused me to tense and sit up. He probably didn't even know they were there.

Mando's heavy head eventually shifted onto my shoulder, but I figured it was best not to wake him despite the numbing feeling that took over my arm. I stared up at the stars, trying to figure out the constellations and the stories he had told me days ago.

It was crazy how much had happened in just a few days.

Cara and I sat in silence for about an hour, simply enjoying the slow trip. I could feel her piercing gaze on me, nearly suffocating me in the eerie silence.

"So. How long have you and him been..." She trailed off, trying to lead me into an answer.

A warmth flooded by face at her insinuation. Mando and I? Did she think we were together? Part of me wanted to laugh.

"We're not." I chuckled, trying to keep quiet to not wake Mando or the child. "We're hardly partners. We just travel together, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, we kinda got in a little argument. I don't think he's gotten over it yet."

Cara laughed and gestured towards his slouched form that pressed against me. "Looks like he has to me."

I rolled my eyes and glanced over at him, trying to hide the smile that appeared when he was near. It was rare to see him so unguarded and at ease, but it was nice.

"So you raise a kid together?" Cara settled her laughs and looked at me with a cocked brow.

"We kind of stole it, actually."

She chuckled again and shook her head. "And you really aren't anything more?"

"Oh, Kriff, I haven't thought about something like that in a long time." I giggled. My stomach grew queasy when the heat returned to my cheeks. "Even if I did, he's a Mandalorian. Those sorts of relationships are _very_ difficult."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

The sick feeling in my stomach grew along with a lump forming in my throat. This was all very 'girl-talk' and it made me squirm.

"Sort of, I guess. It was a brief thing, but it was hard. You know, the 'can't show your face' thing and all that. It makes relationships difficult."

She hummed and nodded, going quiet for another few seconds. It made me extremely uncomfortable to sit with my own words weighing down on me.

"So, he's a good guy though?" She looked over at Mando with a raised brow.

"Yeah..." I smiled, shifting closer to his warm body. "Yeah, he is."

Cara nodded again and leaned against the wall, drifting to sleep. I couldn't look away from Mando's helmet. The light reflected off of it beautifully and cast unique shadows over the beskar.

Looking at him like this, I began wondering what he actually looked like under the helmet. I knew he was tan, I remembered that from when I helped him with his arm on Arvala-7, but what color were his eyes? His hair? Was it messy from always being covered by the helmet? Or did he keep it groomed when I wasn't around.

Were his eyes a brilliant shade of blue that resembled the seas? Or possibly a deep green similar to the trees and nature around us? Maybe they were even a rich brown with swirls of orange and gold like the rising suns on Tatooine.

I could feel a flutter in my stomach as I crept deeper in my thoughts. I shook them off and rested my head against his, trying desperately to fall asleep without thinking of what his face might look like.


	16. Chapter 16

# 15

* * *

_"Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation."_

_The air had grown shallow. I couldn't breathe or think or-_

_"I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster."_

_I was going to be sick, I was sure of it. We were dead. Or, at least, we were about to be._

_"If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model."_

_And he was just going to keep going, taunting our death with his words._

_"Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears."_

_We were facing our end and yet we were stuck, unmoving and unwilling to do anything to fight it. There had to be something we could do. We can't just stand here and do nothing._

_"I'm sure the young Jedi, Myrah Koor, could also help you in knowing the fields of soldiers that have been eliminated during the Galactic Civil War. A war that she sat by and watched while her friends were eradicated without a strong enough defense that she could have provided."_

_There was a sharp stinging pain in my eyes that I tried desperately to hold back. All of our secrets were laid out in front of us on display._

_"I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karge to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to law down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end."_

The speeder came to a harsh stop, waking all three of us from our relatively peaceful sleep. I could hear the sounds of children laughing and could feel the morning sun beating down on my face, but I refused to open my eyes.

There was a shift in my arms, but I tightened my grip, unwilling to move from my comfortable spot. A gentle hand landed on my shoulder, trying to shake me awake, but I refused.

"No..." I groaned and tightened my grip again, feeling whatever it was tense under my grasp. I sighed, a sleepy smile taking over my features.

"Myrah, come on. We're here. You have to get up." Came a soft voice as the hand squeezed my shoulder.

I sighed and released my grip, whining as I did so. I rubbed my eyes while I sat up, starting to look around me. My eyes widened when I came to face Mando staring at me.

It took a while to register, but it finally clicked. I wasn't hugging _something,_ I was hugging _Mando_. My face lit up red and hot as I quickly diverted my gaze. Out of everything around us, I had to cling onto the stoic and stubborn Mandalorian. 

He started to speak, but he was interrupted by the excitable children around.

"Everyone, they're here! Come on!" 

The children shouted and ran towards the speeder, taking a sharp turn to look at the adorable alien. Who could blame them.

"Well, looks like they're happy to see us." Mando spoke, his voice slightly deeper and raspier than normal.

"Looks like." Cara crossed her legs to watch as the children giggled, playing with the child.

I couldn't find any words that could cover my embarrassment. I wasn't even sure what I would say after something like that.

We began unloading our belongings and carried them towards the huts. Cara split off in one direction while Mando and I went in another. I followed Mando towards a hut, staring down at the box in my hands. 

While it was a bit awkward to find my arms wrapped around the armor-clad man, it was also oddly comfortable. He was warm and gentle despite the hardened impression he wore.

A gentle hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back from Mando. I spun around to find one of the villagers with their face scrunched in confusion.

"We have a separate hut prepared for you. We figured you-"

"Right!" I laughed when my face began to heat up again. "Of course, I'm sorry." I swallowed my embarrassment and nodded towards them. "You lead the way!"

They led me towards a hut not too far from Mando's, leaving me to settle down and refresh. I couldn't believe I had embarrassed myself twice within a matter of minutes.

I sighed and fell back on the small cot. The thin mattress was the most comfortable thing I had laid on in a week.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a pile of clothes resting on top of a small chair. I moved towards the seat, playing with the soft fabric between my fingers. It was smooth and gentle against my skin, nothing like what I wore.

But maybe it was time for a little change.

* * *

The sunset on Sorgan was just as beautiful as the one on Arvala-7, if not more so. It was bright and golden, but not orangey like in the desert. This was a sort of pale glow like early mornings on Coruscant.

The clothing, however, wasn't quite to my taste. It, too, was pastel and bright. Not really my cup of tea but it would do.

In place of my typical all black outfit I donned was a pair of tight, dark-brown pants and a soft teal tunic that accompanied it. The neckline was a bit low, but not inappropriate. 

They had given me a green scarf that I chose to tie around my torso to define my waistline a bit. If I was going to wear such an absurd outfit, I might as well look good while I'm at it.

To top it all off, they had given me a pair of tan ankle boots with strings that I had tied in a bow. I had to at least be thankful that it was all comfortable. 

Another wonderful thing was that I was _finally_ able to bathe. After a week of chaos and fighting, it was so nice to completely clean off. I cannot remember the last time my hair felt so soft and smooth. No one would ever believe that only a few days ago I was rolling in the dirt while trying to take down a mudhorn.

Cara had come by my hut and asked for me to fetch Mando and meet her in the woods. I was sort of hoping we would have some extra time before getting started on the whole raider thing, but I guess we were staying here for that reason specifically.

"Hello? Anyone home?" I joked as I knocked on Mando's hut. It was a bit smaller than mine, but still better than the Crest.

"Come in." His grumpy voice came from inside.

I opened the curtain to find Mando adjusting his helmet, somewhat surprised that he had willingly taken it off. I looked around the area and found a plate resting on the windowsill.

Ah, that's why it was off.

"Have you been enjoying-" He had started to speak, but stopped himself abruptly.

I spun around to see what he was distracted by, but he was only looking at me. I tilted my head to the side as I walked closer to him. He hardly moved.

"Bucket-head? Are you there?" I waved my hand in front of his face, finally receiving a small reaction from him. "What were you saying?"

"Are you enjoying it here?" He spoke slowly and softly, his gloved hand reaching out towards mine. It was so subtle and gentle that I almost didn't notice. His hand twitched, almost as if he was only realizing what he was doing.

I swallowed the bundle of nerves that began creeping up on me. "It's pretty nice. Not sure I'm a big fan of their style, but it gives me time to clean my clothes. Maybe I can find a seamstress to make something a bit darker and more flexible"

I shrugged as his hand crept closer, brushing his fingers delicately against mine. He chuckled, warm and rich, igniting a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.

"So, uh... When did you find time to go get food?"

He stopped and pulled his hand away, turning around to fetch the plate. "Omera brought it to me."

"Omera, huh? Who- Who is that?" I could feel the blush on my face when I stuttered. Since when did I do that?

"A woman."

How specific. 

"Right... Well, Cara is waiting at the edge of the forest. Don't want to keep her waiting, right?" I slapped a small smile on my face and left the little hut, hoping the blush on my cheeks had died down.

Mando had caught up to me quickly as we walked towards the trees. Every now and then I could feel his hand brush against mine and I scolded myself for thinking about grabbing it.

I swear, this had to just be Cara messing with my head.

* * *

"About fifteen or twenty of them came through here on foot." Mando pointed towards a clearing in the trees, using what I assumed to be the heat sensor in his helmet to detect the prints.

"And what do you think did _that_ , Mister Technology Man?" I said as I pointed towards the fallen branches with a smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"I don't know yet, Miss Smart Ass."

My jaw fell as Mando simply walked past me, following the footprints. Cara laughed beside me but quickly followed him, leaving me slightly behind and in slight shock.

Since when did he get a sense of humor?

I caught up with where they stood, Mando crouched down next to a large print in the ground. He studied it closely, but you didn't need to look for too long to figure out what had done _that_.

"AT-ST" Cara and I said in sync.

"Imperial walker. What's it doing here?" Mando thought out loud.

"I don't know... But this is more than I signed up for." Cara looked back at us, an unsure expression spreading across her face. I'm sure mine was not too far off from hers.

* * *

"Bad news. You can't live here anymore." Mando's harsh voice cut through the crowd abruptly.

"Mando..." I groaned and ran a hand through my hair.

We had gathered the village to breath the bad news to them. Apparently, we shouldn't have let Mando do the talking. As usual, he was blunt and lacked compassion. Who would've guessed?

"Nice bedside manner." Cara mumbled.

"You think you two can do better?" Mando insisted.

I scoffed. "You really can't do any worse."

"I know this is not the news you wanted to hear," Cara stepped towards the crowd, "but there are no other options."

At least someone here was able to take control without starting a riot.

"You took the job!" One of the farmers from before shouted.

"That was before we knew about the AT-ST."

"What is that?" They asked.

"The armored walker with two enormous guns that you _knew_ about and didn't tell us." Cara's sass began sneaking into her words.

"You're supposed to help us. We hired you!"

"We have nowhere to go." A young woman, whose name was Omera according to Mando spoke up, her gaze resting on him.

"Sure you do. This is a big planet. I mean, I've seen a lot smaller." Cara responded with a shrug. Definitely not going in the direction we had hoped.

"My grandparents seeded these ponds. It took generations!"

"I understand. I do..." She tried to reason with them. "But there are only three of us."

"No, there's not. There's at least twenty here."

"I mean fighters. Be realistic! I've seen that thing take out entire companies of _soldiers_ in a matter of minutes."

Entire companies of soldiers. My mind was thrown into the dream I had the night before, the voice, the words, it was so _familiar_ , but so foreign.

"We're not leaving." Omera spoke firmly.

"You cannot fight that thing." Cara argued.

"We can show them how..." I spoke up, glancing between Mando and Cara. She rolled her eyes while he shrugged, at least I had someone on board. Besides, I couldn't stand the idea of having any more innocent blood on my hands.

The words from my dream crept back into my mind. It was nothing but darkness, only allowing me to hear the strangers voice accompanied with my thoughts. Cara was there, Greef too, but there was one person that I couldn't quite place.

Din Djarin, the Mandalorian...

Oh my Kriff, _no_.


	17. Chapter 17

# 16

* * *

The Mandalorian was shocked by Myrah's idea, but mainly because he was thinking the same thing himself. There was only one way they even had a _chance_ for this to work out and that was if they were able to have everyone involved. It gave the people a sense of hope and that alone could give them the boost they need. 

It didn't take long for them to come up with a plan. In fact, Myrah had almost all of it figured out. While he was well aware that she was smart and cunning, Mando was in complete awe of her intelligence. 

Everyone gathered once again to hear the news about what they would be doing. They were all anxious, hardly any of them have ever held a weapon before. 

"You got two problems here." Mando started. "You got the bandits, and you got the mech. We'll handle the AT-ST, but you gotta protect us when they come out of the woods. And I don't have to tell you how dangerous they are. Cara Dune here was a veteran. She was a drop soldier for the Rebellion, and she's gonna lay out a plan for you, so listen carefully." 

Myrah smiled as he stepped back to join her behind Cara. Her smile was soft and beamed brighter than the gorgeous yellow sun in the sky. He once again found himself smiling every time he saw her excited face. 

"Now, there's nothing on this planet that can damage the legs on this thing, so we're gonna build a trap." Cara's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "We're gonna need to dig real deep, right here, so that when it steps in, it drops. The three of us will hit their camp. Provoke them. That'll bring the fight out of the woods and down here to us."

"I need you to cut down trees and build barricades along these edges." Myrah stepped down and pointed towards the edge of the water. "I need it high enough so that they can't get over, and strong enough so that they can't break through."

"Okay." Mando glanced around, his helmet carefully scanning the area. "Who knows how to shoot?" 

Sure, they didn't expect many people to raise their hands, but they didn't expect for Omera to be the _only one_ with her hand in the air. 

The rest of the day was spent passing out blasters and testing the villagers abilities. Cara was teaching half of the people to use spears while Myrah and the Mandalorian handled guns. 

They set up a wide target consisting of a series of pans hanging from a branch. It was a fairly simple target, but hardly anyone was able to land a shot on the metal. Well, except for Omera. 

She hit every shot with ease and immaculate precision. Mando's eyes widened beneath the helmet accompanied by a small, but impressed, smile. 

By the time the sun began its descent, the entire village was sitting down for supper. In hopefully a week or two, they would be ready. They only hoped they wouldn't have to defend themselves any sooner than that. 

Myrah stood on a small hill that overlooked the village, watching everyone's excited faces as they talked about what they had learned during the day. She let out a sigh and allowed a joyful smile to sneak its way onto her face. She connected with them and their thrill. It reminded her of when she was young and first learning her abilities. 

She whipped around at the soft sound of grass crunching behind her, her hand hovering over the expandable staff at her hip. A breath of relief escaped her once she realized it was only the Mandalorian sneaking up behind her. 

Her body relaxed at the sight of her partner. Her gaze shifted over her shoulder at the village. "You're not going to join them?" Her voice was quiet, not wanting to disrupt the happiness that flooded through the small area.

"Are you?" He retorted and took a few steps towards her while reaching for his rifle on his back. "You said you wanted me to teach you."

"I did, didn't I?" She hummed. "I thought you forgot... You sure you trust me with that kind of weapon around you?"

"I'll take my chances." He said with a chuckle and led her to the targets they had set up hours before. 

Myrah cautiously took the rifle from the Mandalorian's hands, taking a moment to admire the weapon before she stood in front of him. After forcing herself to take a deep breath, she raised the weapon and gazed through the scope, firing her first shot.

She missed.

"Shit." She cursed herself for her slip up.

"You're nervous." Mando pointed out the obvious.

"It _is_ kind of an intense weapon."

"Just try to relax" His hands rested delicately on her hips, almost as if he thought he would break her, moving them to face the target. "Feet shoulder-width apart." His voice came out barely above a whisper next to her ear while his foot pushed hers apart.

Myrah turned her head ever so slightly and was shocked to find the Mandalorian so close. She swallowed her breath with a lump in her throat. She nodded her head, unable to form a coherent sentence.

As she looked back at the target, she felt one of his hands move to her stomach. Both of them inhaled a sharp breath, tensing with the touch.

"Your posture is horrible." He teased, his touch becoming ghostly and sending goosebumps all over Myrah's body.

She laughed and shook her head, happy to find a moment of relief in the moment. It shouldn't have felt so intense, she shouldn't have found herself feeling this way towards the Mandalorian. But she did. 

"Now shoot."

Myrah did as he said. She gazed through the scope and fired another shot, hitting the center of the pan. A loud, bell-like sound rang out through the clearing in the forest at the impact. Her face lit up in a big bright smile, filled with a joy that Mando wasn't sure he had ever seen from her. 

She spun around in his arms, wrapping hers tightly around his neck. He was a bit caught off-guard, but slowly wrapped his arms around her, embracing the affection that he didn't even know he longed for.

She was warm, he had quickly found out, and smelled like citrus and cinnamon. It felt like the moment could last forever, or at least, he wanted it to. He knew he shouldn't be welcoming this, but he had broken so many rules already, what was one more?

"I...I should probably go." He mumbled.

Myrah stepped back, her eyes growing wide. "Oh- uh. Sorry, yeah."

"I have to talk to Cara...Plan lessons for tomorrow." 

"Shouldn't I go with you then?" Her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows scrunched together on her face.

He thought it was adorable.

"No." He answered simply and took off towards the village without another word, leaving his rifle in her hands. 

Myrah smiled to herself and ran her fingers over the soft curves of the gun. The feeling of his hands left a burning imprint on her skin and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore it.

* * *

With a couple of weeks of training having gone by, the trio decided that tomorrow night, they would follow through with the plan. Tonight, they chose not to celebrate, but to rest. They were sure that as soon as all of this was over, they would host a huge celebration for everyone to rejoice in their victory. 

The sun had set hours ago and left the town in almost complete darkness. Only the moon and stars lit the planet and cast a white glow upon their small ponds. 

Everyone in the village had gone to sleep to prepare for the upcoming battle. Well, everyone except Myrah. She couldn't fall asleep no matter what she tried and was growing bored of staring at the ceiling of her little hut. 

Now, she stood in front of the Mandalorians hut with her hand raised to knock on it. Her mind was swarming with thoughts of whether or not she should follow through with it, especially since she didn't _want_ to bother him. Finally, after another moment of hesitation, she knocked.

Her eyes were trained on the unmoving curtain for a few seconds before she shook her head and turned around, deciding it was best to leave and that he was probably still asleep anyway. She wasn't even sure why she was there in the first place. 

"What are you doing?"

Myrah stopped dead in her tracks, her head dropping as she sighed. She spun around and slapped a little smirk on her face before strolling up to the Mandalorian.

"Well, I was going to sort of ding-dong-ditch you, but you caught me."

"Uh huh..." He leaned against the doorway, holding back the curtain in his hand. "You want to come in?"

"Depends." She mumbled as she shuffled in the hut. "What do you want?"

"You're the one who knocked."

"I told you it was just a prank- hey. Do you sleep with the helmet on?" She walked towards the small window and gazed out at the dark horizon.

"No, but some annoying passerby came and woke me up by knocking on my door." He grumbled and sat on the edge of his cot, pulling on his boots. Myrah hadn't even noticed he wasn't wearing them.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged and stood up, sauntering over to her. "We're going for a walk. You have that 'I want to talk but won't admit it' look on your face."

"You got all of that from my face?"

He didn't want to admit that he had noticed her small, ever-changing expressions. Or that he had taken note of the different ways she carried herself when something was wrong. He didn't know how she would take that and he wasn't willing to take that risk yet.

"Everything about you is kind of loud." 

Myrah rolled her eyes and followed him outside the hut. The insects chirped around them as they continued in a comfortable silence. There never really was an awkward silence with them, it was always welcomed and strangely intimate. 

She stopped at a small bridge, leaning against the fence. The water was high, and the breeze sent small ripples through the black abyss. She lowered herself to the wood planks, sitting down and leaving small splashes in the water as her feet swung. 

Myrah's thoughts were racing, leaving her with a subtle but annoying headache. She didn't want to continue this charade with the Mandalorian, pretending she didn't care about what he did. She _did_ care and she hated it. She cared about all the silly little things and the last thing she wanted was for him to not trust her.

"Hey, Mando?" She murmured. The nickname felt distant. Her mind drifted off to the dream she had weeks before, wanting to say the foreign name aloud. 

He hummed and sat himself down next to her.

"Remember when you asked me about the covert and all of that?" She waited for his response, but only received his head turning towards her. At least she knew she had his full attention. "I used to be really... _close_ with them."

"What do you mean?"

"I, uh... They welcomed me in, I guess. Like a family, you know?" She picked anxiously at the skin around her nails while she spoke.

He was silent for a few seconds before finally speaking up again. "You were a Mandalorian?"

"Sort of." She spoke shyly and refused to look up at him. Not like she would see any reaction, but she knew that she would feel it. "There were some people who were after me and they only recognized my face. The covert was kind enough to welcome me in for a while until I was safe."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to trust me. Plus, I have something pretty serious to ask you... You don't have to answer it if you don't feel comfortable, but I had the strangest dream and I just-"

"Myrah? You're rambling." 

She nodded and took a long, deep breath. It felt like her head was spinning. How could she possibly ask this of him? It was private to him, why should she know? _How_ did she know? The Force was strong, but this felt different. What she didn't know was that he was equally as nervous, trying to think of every possible thing she could ask.

"You name... Is-Is your name-"

" _Din_."

They spoke at the same time. Myrah felt the invisible weight lifted off of her chest.

"Din Djarin." He finished, his gaze unmoving from hers. "How did you know?"

"I heard it in a dream." She mumbled.

"Some dreams you have." He chuckled

The corners of her mouth lifted into a timid smile. "I like it... Your name, I mean. I wasn't a big fan of the dream." She paused and finally looked over at him. A wave of delight and tenderness washed over her as she gazed into the dark helmet. 

"I like hearing you say it." 

Her face flushed pink at his words. "What makes it so different?"

"Your voice... It's sweet." He paused. "Princess." He nudged her with his elbow, hiding a smile behind his helmet. He truly was glad that he could conceal himself under the armor.

"I hate that name."

"You'll learn to love it." 

Another warm silence enveloped them as the soft lapping of the water filled the air. Myrah let out a happy, content breath and laid her head on the Mandalorian's beskar covered shoulder. His head quickly snapped to look at her, his heart starting to beat faster in his chest. He swore she could hear it's rapid thumping.

"Tomorrow is going to be pretty intense... Do you think they're ready?" She shivered and brought her knees to her chest. 

"They're ready..." His voice wavered. "And if anything happens-"

"Don't say that." She snapped. "Nothing is going to happen, okay? We _just_ stopped fighting. I'm not letting you go, Din." Her fingers danced across the back of his hand, feeling the soft leather beneath the pads of her fingertips.

His lips lifted at the sound of his name. Though she couldn't see it, he smiled. He didn't want to let her go either.

"That's only for when we're in private."

"I know." She lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned her body to face him. "So...You and Omera, huh?"

He groaned and pulled himself to his feet, briskly walking back towards his hut. 

"It seems like something is going on there and I want to know!" 

She smiled as she teased him, but couldn't stop the pang of jealousy in her chest. Still, she chased after him, saying a quick goodnight before she left for her hut. Once she collapsed on her bed, she drifted off into a peaceful sleep without a single worry about tomorrow's fight. 

It would all work out just fine.


	18. Chapter 18

# 17

* * *

The wind blew furiously through the village, tangling my already messy brown hair as it caught on my face. For once in a long time, I felt awake and well-rested. It was a night of good dreams - no, _amazing_ dreams. The weight of the galaxy no longer felt like it weighed on my shoulders and I couldn't be more grateful.

I sat in the same spot as last night on the bridge, admiring the way the sun lit up the tides of the water. It was much different than last night, more lively. Last night was almost intimate. Nothing else in the little village mattered. There was no battle to prepare for, no fear of death, just us. Today was so very different.

Today we feared for our lives, only hoping that we would be successful. While the sky may have been bright, our minds were anything but. 

I heard a couple of heavy footsteps behind me, followed by a gentle hand resting on my shoulder. I couldn't help but lean into the touch. 

"It's time." Spoke the muffled voice that I had grown so accustomed to. 

"I know." I sighed and twisted the new dark fabric of my shirt around my finger before standing from my spot on the bridge, turning to face Mando - or - Din, I guess.

"Cara is waiting for us."

"Well, who are we to keep her waiting, huh?" 

I offered a small, sad smile before walking towards the trees. No matter how confident I felt in these people, there was a sliver of fear in my mind telling me that we might fail. 

"Don't look so sad, Princess." Din quickly caught up with me. "If all goes well, we can stay here for as long as you want."

"Oh really? So you can get to know Omera?" I teased. "No matter what, you're still stuck with me." I poked a finger to his cold chest plate, smiling to myself as he stopped abruptly at the very small action. 

"And if I want to be stuck with you?" He whispered as his hand cautiously wrapped around my wrist. 

Our constant teasing had been going on for quite a while, but this time it caught me completely off-guard. I found myself at a loss for words. I had forgotten how to breathe if I'm being completely honest. Every day I spent with him was another day I found myself drawn closer to him. If this doesn't stop soon, I'm afraid it'll go too far. 

"Finally you two show up."

Cara jogged up to us, rolling her eyes. She nodded towards the woods, quickly beginning the trek into the unknown. I moved to take off after her, but was tugged back by a hand grasping my arm. 

I felt the metal of Din's helmet rest against the side of my head, followed by his soft whisper. 

"Be safe. Don't do anything stupid."

I chuckled. "I should be saying the same to you." 

* * *

We waited till it was dark to make any sort of move. Beneath the trees, the moon barely peeked through, leaving it pitch black around us as we ran through the woods. 

We were cautious to make little sound as we moved. Even if one person were to notice us out here, the plan would fall through. This was not the time for taking chances.

Once Cara spotted the soft, yellow light of a fire, we knew we had arrived. We hid behind the trees, waiting a bit longer and watching the Klatooninains communicate with one another until Din signaled for us to follow him. 

The two aliens continued to chat, gulping down their glowing beverages. Poor guys didn't even know what was coming.

Din and I snuck up behind them and quickly took them out with a sharp snap emitting from their necks. 

Our mission was far from complete, though. There was another fire not too far away with a larger group of aliens that surrounded it. Sure, we were absolutely outnumbered, but that never bothered Din and I before.

We all shared a quick, knowing look before slipping into the large building, unnoticed by the guards. Din had his blaster raised, prepared for any fight that might occur. 

Thankfully, nothing came. Yet.

After reholstering his blaster, he reached for a small explosive and placed it against the wall. It began beeping slowly in an almost musical rhythm. We only had a matter of time before someone entered. 

We prepared ourselves at the entrance of the building, waiting for the aliens to come inside. It wasn't long until they entered, clearly shocked by the three of us standing before them.

Cara grabbed one of them and kicked another in the stomach while Din blocked their punches. I saw another one start to run at me. It caught me off guard and managed to land a punch to my face. 

It hurt. A lot, I might add, but it could've been worse. 

I grabbed its hand and forced their arm behind its back. With one small tug, there was a loud crack. It whimpered a bit before I grabbed the back of its head and slammed against one of the glowing tubs.

I didn't bother checking whether or not it was still alive. Chances are, it wasn't.

Cara and Din took turns taking out the Klatooninians doing Kriff knows what. I, however, found another one trying to sneak out the door. 

I grabbed onto them and threw my legs over its shoulders. It squirmed and tried to grab onto my legs to pull me off, but the slam of my elbow against their head stopped their defenses. With a final move, I twisted their head, hearing another deadly snap. 

Before it could collapse onto the ground, I jumped off of its shoulders and landed somewhat gracefully on the ground. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. 

I turned to find Din and Cara staring at me. "What?" I huffed with a small grin. "You could have helped."

We all were at a loss of breath, trying to keep our attempts to recoup quiet. Our moments of peace didn't last long.

There was a loud yell before more of the aliens swarmed the building. We fought them off with ease as the beeping of the bomb grew louder. 

As I knocked another to the ground, I saw Din thrown against a tub while he groaned in pain. Before they could attack again, I tackled it to the ground. He struggled against my grasp on his collar but with a single shot to the head, he stopped.

I tucked my blaster back in its holster, feeling a gentle hand on my shoulder. Din's hand was outstretched to me, his head cocked ever so slightly to the side. 

I laid my hand in his and allowed him to pull me back to my feet. My eyes met his visor, trying to search for any sign of gratefulness or... anything, really. As usual, there was nothing but the dark glass. 

"A little help, guys!" Cara shouted, dunking an alien into the glowing liquid within the tubs. 

Before we could do anything, a glowing blaster shot was fired. Din tugged me down next to him behind a containment while Cara hid behind another. We all held our blasters tight in our palms, staring out at the opening.

"Come on! We'll cover you!" He shouted to Cara.

She nodded and began running towards the exit with us hot on her trail. I almost thought we were too late. That we, too, would be caught in the blast. Luckily, we barely missed it.

The three of us were thrown onto the mulchy ground as the bomb went off. I groaned and rolled to face Din, finding him already looking back at me.

"I hope the plan worked." Cara spoke up, humor laced within her words. 

There was a slight rumbling behind us, followed by a loud mechanical whirring. We all turned in what felt like slow motion to face the red, glowing eyes of the AT-ST. I could feel Din's fingers brush against my hand as we rose to our feet, almost as if he wanted to grab onto it.

In the moment, I wish he had.

"You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?" I sighed.

"Go!" Din exclaimed. "Go!" 

We all took off in a sprint towards the village with the AT-ST not far behind. It fired numerous shots at us through the trees as we ran, but we managed to dodge them without so much as a scratch.

Finally, we saw the village and its fiery lights. We slid behind the barricades, waiting for something. Anything.

"This is it! Once that thing steps into the pond, it's goin' down." Cara shouted to the group.

I glanced over at Din, his focus remaining on the trees we had just escaped. My hand inched towards his, giving it a short, gentle squeeze before I watched the edge of the forest. 

First, it was the stomps that shook the ground and caused the villagers to tremble.

Second, it was the trees falling to the ground. Each one hit with a loud crunch.

Finally, it was the menacing red eyes that struck fear into each person's heart. Everyone was wondering whether or not the plan would work. 

It didn't work. The AT-ST stopped dead in its tracks at the edge of the water. 

"It stopped." Cara turned to face us, her eyes searching mine for some kind of hope or back up plan.

"No shit." I mumbled and leaned against the barricade, squeezing my eyes shut as tight as I could. We lost. There was nothing left for us to do. Well, except...

The large droid shined a light down towards the barricade, trying to find where we were all hidden.

"Get down." Din hissed. "Get down."

There was a blast, igniting the village in partial flames. The villagers were not the best at taking orders.

The Klatooninians began charging through the grass and towards our barrier, their guns raised high as they cried out.

"Open fire!" Cara demanded, leading the villagers in the fight. They followed her orders and fired against the aliens. 

But the AT-ST still stood tall.

"We gotta get that thing to step forward." Din growled, looking at Cara and I.

This was all _my_ plan. I felt like if I didn't save this village, no one would. I thought that their hope would be enough to get us through this, but I was wrong and foolish. Now, it was up to _me_.

"I have an idea." I spoke quietly. I wasn't confident in this plan at all and I think that was obvious by the unsure look on my face. "Give me the rifle."

"You can barely shoot it." Din argued. He must've known what I was about to do. It was a risk, but I had to take it.

"No better time to learn." I flashed him a quick grin and tore the rifle from his hands.

I sprinted down the small strip of land before diving into the cold water. Goosebumps formed on my skin as I swam beneath its surface, only breaking the water when I reached the end of the cliff beneath the robot. 

I inhaled a sharp, cold breath and spun around. Through the scope, I aimed the rifle towards the AT-ST's eyes, successfully firing a rough shot to its head.

It took a step forward, now right at the edge of the water. It was now or never. 

I fired another shot, but so had the droid.

"Shit." I hissed and ducked behind the edge. My hand felt like it was on fire. I could barely see the fresh, red burn left from the shot that grazed my skin.

The villagers began charging at the Klatooninians, matching their battle yell as they fought valiantly. Maybe I was wrong about them. They were giving me more time.

The robot fired several blasts into the dark waters, each one inching closer and closer to me. I took a moment to shut my eyes and control my breath. I had done this a thousand times before, I could do it again.

"Focus, Myrah..." I whispered to myself. "Find your balance, your peace." An image of Din and the child flashed in my mind as I took another deep breath. "Serenity."

I heard a whisper in the back of my head. I remembered the voice, so soft and kind. I swore that I could feel her soft hand rest on my shoulder.

_The Force is all things and you are the Force._

I spun around and fired another shot at the robot, blasting out the window of its right eye.

Finally. 

It stepped forward, its body sinking into the moat that we built. 

Din ran forward, the bomb already activated in his hand as he stuck it to the side of the robot. He jumped into the water next to me as the explosion went off behind him, another close call.

It was over.

The Klatooninians all ran back to the forest as their main source of protection was gone. We had won.

Din swam over and held me tight to his chest, both of us breathing heavy as we regathered our thoughts and strength.

I chuckled and leaned my head against him. I struggled to keep my eyes open with the sudden wave of exhaustion. 

"We make a good team..." I smiled up at him, wiping the water droplets off of his helmet. 

"We do."

The villagers cheered, celebrating their victory while Din pulled us both out of the water. I returned the rifle and gave his arm a quick squeeze before I joined the villagers in celebration.

There was about to be a _lot_ of drinking tonight. 


	19. Chapter 19

# 18

* * *

"DIN!" Myrah shouted, whining as she was thrown into the small pond, soon becoming drenched in water.

He quickly shushed her and shook his head, bending down to kneel at the water's edge. "I told you. Only use that name in private."

"We are in private." Myrah hissed, pushing her wet hair from her face.

"When you yell like that, it's not so private." 

"So you're saying you don't like when I yell your name?" She teased with a flirtatious smile. 

He could feel a warmth rise to his face, creeping up his neck. If she could see his face right now, he was sure he would make an absolute fool of himself. As if he wasn't already.

"Keep it down." He mumbled, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Sometimes I can't help it, you know?" She swam over to the edge where he kneeled, folding her arms beneath her chin as she rested them on the ground. "I like the way it rolls off of my tongue. It sounds so..."

He gulped. "So...?" He encouraged her to continue, finding himself lost in her eyes. He knew that this is most definitely not 'the way' but he was already way past that.

"So..." 

She took the moment of distraction to grab onto his wrists and tug him into the pond as well. His body hit the water with a huge splash as Myrah burst into a fit of laughter. 

While he was upset with being soaked in the water, especially since his clothes would take significantly longer to dry, her laughter put him at ease. A soft fluttering filled his stomach just by looking at her joyful face. 

A small voice in the back of his head kept telling him that this is _wrong_. But if it was, then why did it feel so damn right?

He waded towards her as she leaned against the edge with her face scrunched up. He placed his hands against the wall on both sides of her body, cornering her between his arms.

_This isn't right._

_This isn't right._

_This isn't right._

But he couldn't help it.

Her laughter died down as she gazed up into his visor. Her eyes softened and her small, tender hands moved to rest against his chest plate. He never knew how she always managed to find his eyes beneath the helmet.

"That wasn't very nice." He whispered. 

"Throwing _me_ into the pond isn't very nice either, Din." His name rolled smoothly off of her tongue in an almost sing-song tone. 

"I learned from the best." 

His voice was breathy as it always was with the modulator, but it was even more so now. He moved his hand from the wall to cup her jaw, brushing his fingers along the line of it. She shivered beneath his touch once his thumb began drawing slow circles against her cheek.

He swore he could have stayed like this forever.

Myrah hummed and leaned into his hand, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

"Wouldn't it be nice if-"

"Mando." The two quickly moved away from one another at the sound of someone else's voice. They looked up, only to find Cara. They both let out a long sigh of relief. "Omera's looking for you."

"Right." He nodded and pulled himself from the water. "I'll be right there."

Myrah coughed obnoxiously loud, holding her hands up from the water. He smiled behind the helmet and took her hands to help her from the water. His hands lingered on hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.

"Myrah, I-"

"Don't worry about me, I understand. She's an amazing woman and if she makes you happy, then I'm happy."

She was shot with a sharp pang of jealousy, desperately trying to hide it from him.

"It's not-"

She stopped him again, placing her hand on the side of his helm. " _Go_."

She patted the helmet before stepping past him, journeying towards her hut. Her clothes dripped water along the path, trailing behind her. 

Din sighed and watched as she walked away. He hated seeing her so...hurt? Was that the word he was looking for?

Cara cleared her throat next to him, catching his attention and bringing him out of his thoughts. "Omera is still waiting."

"Right." He murmured before walking towards the huts with Cara at his side. 

Cara had settled on a box outside of Din's small home, watching as the children played in the grass. He leaned against the wall on the other side of the entrance, his brain racking with ideas of what Omera could possibly want to talk about.

After a few minutes of waiting, Omera emerged from the hut and handed Cara a small mug of spotchka. "Can I set you something in the house?"

"Uh... Thank you. Maybe later." He cleared his throat and returned to watching the kids play.

Omera smiled as she gazed up at the Mandalorian, watching his subtle moves as he supervised. She followed his gaze to find the children, but most importantly, the little green alien that played with them.

"He's very happy here."

"He is."

"Fits right in."

He could tell by the soft, longing look in her eyes that she was not talking about the child at all. She brushed past him, leaving for the fields with the smile never leaving her face. 

Cara's eyebrows raised while a smug little grin crept onto her face. "So, what happens if you take that thing off?" Din glanced over at her, his head cocked to the side. "They come after you and kill you?"

"No... You just can't ever put it back on again."

"That's it?" She scoffed. "So you can slip off the helmet, and settle down with that beautiful young widow, hell, even your gorgeous partner. Don't even try to deny it. And raise your kid here, sipping spotchka?"

He gave her a sharp look that she simply shrugged off and took another sip from her cup. 

"You know, we raised some hell here a few weeks back. It's too much action for a backwater town like this. Word travels fast... We might wanna cycle the charts and move on."

"Would not wanna be the one who's gonna tell them." 

She nodded her head towards Myrah, who had now changed into a pair of fresh, dry clothes. Her arms wrapped around the small green child as she scooped him up, tickling him and kissing his head.

"I'm leaving him here. Myrah, too, if she wants... Traveling with me, that's no life for a kid. I did my job, he's safe. Better chance at a life."

"It's gonna break their hearts."

"They'll get over it. We all do." He sighed and pushed himself from the wall before walking over towards the harvesting ponds where Omera sat. "Excuse me. Can I have a word?"

Omera looked up at him, a bright smile immediately gracing her features. "Of course." She stood up and looked around, following him a few feet away. 

"It's very nice here."

She nodded and looked over at the people who were farming away, a hopeful expression forming on her face. "Yes."

"I think it's clear he's... He's happy here."

"What about you?" 

"Me?"

"Are you happy here?"

He looked over her shoulder, his eyes wandering to Myrah and the child. _Yes_. He was happy here. He was happier than he had ever been and yet he was leaving it. Just by looking at the two, his heart filled with a joy that he didn't know how to express.

"We want you to stay. The community's grateful. You can pack all this away in case there's ever trouble... You and your boy could have a good life." She paused, her eyes lighting up. "He could be a child for a while. Wouldn't that be nice?"

_Nice_. That's what Myrah wanted, that's what she asked for. They wouldn't be on the run and wouldn't have to hunt others just to survive. Here, she wouldn't have to hide from whoever was after her. She would be safe and more importantly, happy.

"It would." He mumbled.

Omera hesitated, her eyes darting across the helmet as she lifted her hands to either side of his helmet. She managed to lift it, barely enough to hear the hiss of its relief, but his fingers wrapped around her wrists to pull them back down.

"I don't belong here." He spoke with a sadness filling his voice. "But he does."

"I understand." She whispered. "I will look after him as one of my own-"

A loud gunshot echoed through the trees. The children screamed and ran towards their homes. Villagers were diving to the ground and covering their heads, fearing another ambush. 

"Go get the kids." He demanded, his blaster raised as he ran towards the trees. 

Myrah and Cara stood over a fallen body, Myrah's hand wrapped tight around her blaster. There was a soft beeping coming from the corpse. It was a familiar beeping.

Too familiar.

Din kicked it over, revealing an active tracking fob beneath it.

"Who's he tracking?" Cara spoke with her voice low and quiet. They were all a bit riled up by the sudden action in the peaceful village. 

"The kid." Din spat out the word like poison on his tongue.

"Damn it." Myrah whispered harshly, holstering her blaster. "They know he's here." She hissed and ripped the tracking fob from Din's hand, staring down at it with a glare that could kill. 

"They'll keep coming." Cara gave him a knowing look and tilted her head towards Myrah.

Myrah looked between the two, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her movements became deadly silent as she approached Din. Her eyebrows furrowed and her grip around the fob tightened.

"What are you guys not telling me?"

The Mandalorian glanced between the two women, swallowing the fear that Myrah brought upon him. He hesitantly took the fob from her hand, crushing against a rock with the bottom of his boot.

"We have to leave." He said with a sigh before sauntering back to the village. 

Myrah glanced over at Cara, raising a brow and trying to get more information out of her. Cara only shrugged and followed after Din, leaving Myrah confused and alone in the dark forest.

* * *

The child was already loaded up onto the speeder, his big brown eyes following Myrah and Din as they packed their belongings onto it. Despite Myrah's pleas, he refused to tell her what Cara and him had talked about. He figured it was best she didn't know. 

"Are you sure you don't want an escort?" Cara strolled over to the hunters, helping them pack things up on the platform. 

"I appreciate the offer, but we're gonna bypass the town and head right to the Razor Crest." Din stopped and turned towards the rebel.

"Well then, until our paths cross." She held her hand out to the Mandalorian who grasped it in a brief handshake.

"Until our paths cross."

"Myrah." Cara turned towards the other woman with a smile, opening her arms out for a hug. She graciously accepted and wrapped her arms tight around her. "Keep him out of trouble." Cara chuckled. 

"You know I'll try." She laughed softly and stepped away from her. "You stay safe. Got it?" She sniffled, feeling her eyes start to burn as tears threatened to drip down her face. She hadn't realized how attached she got to the planet. 

"I've got it." Cara delivered a soft pat to her shoulders before she turned and walked towards the trees.

Din met Omera's soft, loving gaze. "Thank you." She whispered. He nodded, unable to muster up any other words. 

"Mando?" Myrah cooed quietly from the speeder, catching his attention. He sighed and grabbed his rifle, pulling himself onto the back edge of the vehicle. 

The village slowly disappeared from their sights, both of them felt a flurry of emotions as everyone waved, shouting their goodbyes. Once they could no longer see the village, Din turned to face Myrah, immediately spotting the mischievous glint in her eyes. 

"Sad to be leaving your woman behind?" She teased, nudging him with her elbow. 

"Not necessarily." He stated simply as he stared down at her.

Her hair was down and flowing over her shoulders with the soft breeze. The light of the gentle sun caught her brown eyes, highlighting the specks of green and gold that floated around them. He felt his stomach tighten into a knot, his hand moving to grip hers. 

"There's someone else I can't get off my mind."

She felt her breath hitch under his intense gaze and a warm flush flow to her face. 

"I don't think that follows your little 'code,' Din."

"It doesn't." He mumbled and released her hand from his grasp. 

_To hell with the code._


	20. Chapter 20

# 19

* * *

"Ouch! What the hell, Din?" I shouted as my head harshly hit the ceiling of the Razor Crest, sending a shooting pain through my spine. "You could _at least_ be careful!"

"Right. Be careful while being shot at." He snapped. "Sorry, Princess, you're not my main concern right now!"

The other ship had grown closer now than it was a few seconds ago, firing rapid shots at the engines of our ship. Those few months of peace were long gone.

"Hand over the child, Mando." The voice echoed through the radio. Sparks were flying through the ship as we were shot at. "I might let you live."

I rolled my eyes as I rubbed my head where it had hit the ceiling. Alarms were going off within the ship, red lights blinking, signaling that things were not in our favor at the moment. Each blare of the alarm increased the tense feeling in my head.

"One of the engines is down!" My voice became whiny, which I blame on my current state of panic.

"I _see_ that!" He sighed. "Hold on."

He quickly spun the ship upside down, not even giving me enough time to hold onto anything as we hurled through space. I gasped as I was knocked against the ceiling and then the ground once more. I let out a pained groan, rubbing my back and head.

"Come on..." Din mumbled to himself.

"I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold." The voice came through again.

Something in Din had snapped once they spoke again. He quickly stopped the ship and soared backwards beneath the enemy fighter until it was in the Razor Crest's aim.

"That's my line." He growled and pulled back the trigger, firing the blasters upon the enemy ship, exploding it into an oblivion.

My eyes widened as I watched the ship become nothing in the empty abyss of space. Maybe it was the pounding of my head or the immense panic, but my thoughts were spoken out loud. "That was hot."

His head snapped in my direction on the floor. I'm sure even if there was no helmet, his expression would be unreadable.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing." I groaned and pulled myself into my seat, holding my head in my hands.

He shook his head with a sigh and began messing with the control panel, powering down the engine. "Can you press-"

I reached up and pressed the button above my head, powering up the emergency engine. A dim red light lit the cockpit as he continued to rework the panel, trying to find a signal.

"This is Mos Eisley Tower. We are tracking you. Head for bay three-five, over." A voice came through the radio after Din sent out what I assumed to be an S.O.S.

"Copy that. Locked in for three-five."

He carefully landed the ship in the hangar, making sure everything was hidden away and secure. That included the child, which he locked away in his hardly spacious cot.

"You okay?"

I hardly heard his voice, but I felt the gentle hand that grazed my head. His fingers threaded through my hair, looking for any sign of bruise or cut.

"I'm fine... Just a headache. Although, I don't know if that's from hitting my head or dealing with you." I teased with a smile before I pressed the button to lower the hatch to the ground.

Din walked out before me, quickly firing a shot in the direction of the droids that were beginning to approach the ship. It was a bit aggressive if you asked me. 

"Din..." I whisper-growled and ripped the blaster from his hand. "You can't just do that." I placed the blaster back in it's holster on his hip, shocked to find his gaze trained on me as I looked up at him.

"Hey! Hey! You damage one of my droids, you'll pay for it." An older woman approached us, stomping on her way. She was short with wiry, reddish-brown hair.

It fit her rage.

"Just keep them away from my ship-" I pinched Din's arm, causing him to flinch away from me with a sharp look in return. " _What_?" He whispered harshly.

I sent him a glare, silently encouraging him to be nice. After all, this woman was supposed to fix the ship.

"Yeah? You think that's a good idea, do ya? Let's look at your ship."

She began walking around the ship, both of us following close behind her. She banged her hand against the metal, the echoing sound bounced off the walls and filled our ears.

"Oof! Look at that." She pulled a scanner from her tool belt and used it on the ship's damaged siding. "Ugh, you got a lot of carbon scorn' up top...Yeah...If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout."

Din and I shared a momentary worried look of knowing, my eyes growing wide. We looked back at the woman once again while she continued on, still on edge.

"Special tool for that one." She sighed. "I am gonna have to rotate that. You got a fuel leak... Look at that, this is a mess! How did you even land?" She scoffed. "That's gonna set you back."

"We have five-hundred Imperial Credits." I grinned and held up the bag of currency.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Din pat down his belts, searching for his credits. It took him a while, but he must have realized that the ones I held were actually his.

What can I say? When you're on the run and hiding from a bunch of people, you start to pick up new skills.

I just happened to pick up pick-pocketing.

"That's all you got? Well, what do you guys think?" She turned towards the chattering droids with a shrug. "That should at least cover the hangar."

"I'll get you your money." Din spoke through gritted teeth. I must have just irritated him more.

"Hmm. I've heard that before. You're lucky your girl here has a trustworthy face, otherwise I don't know if I would help you."

"My girl?" His voice became flustered and confused. "I-"

"Thank you so much!" I brushed my fingers down his arm, eventually settling my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. I could feel him tense, but he gave me a gentle squeeze nonetheless. "Remember, no-"

"Yeah, no droids. I heard him. You don't have to say it twice."

I nodded and tugged on Din's hand, walking with him outside of the hangar. Just as the door closed, I could hear her mutter a few final words.

"Jeez... Womp rat."

* * *

Din dropped my hand once we were outside of the hangar. I couldn't blame him, we already stuck out like a sore thumb. There was me, dressed head to toe in black with a hood hiding my face, and Din, a Mandalorian clad in shiny beskar. This was far from a normal sight for the people of Tatooine.

If he were to have held my hand through these dusty alleys, we would have attracted even more unwanted attention. Although, a part of me didn't want him to let go. 

I took a deep breath of the familiar dusty air. The same old sand buildings decorated the terrain. It was similar to Nevarro. Nothing was incredibly special about this place except for one thing: it was a place I once called home.

We came across a series of stakes in the ground, decorated with stormtrooper helmets speared through them. I felt my heart drop to my stomach, becoming a bit on edge. This must have been long after my family left. 

I glanced up at Din but he chose to not acknowledge the sight. He simply nodded towards a building, the cantina. We weren't allowed here often as children, but it was once a bustling sight. 

His hand rested on the small of my back as he led me inside. I flinched at the initial touch, but before I could relax, he pulled his hand back to his side. It left an absent feeling against my skin and I nearly whimpered at the cold air that hit my back.

"Hey, droid, I'm a hunter." Din leaned against the counter at the bar, talking to the bartender droid. "I'm lookin' for some work."

"Unfortunately, the Bounty Guild no longer operates from Tatooine."

He lowered his voice, taking a quick glance around. "I'm not looking for Guild work."

"I am afraid that does not improve your situation, at least by my calculation."

While Din spoke to the droid, I looked around the Cantina, watching the strange, diverse group of people. Aliens, humans, all sorts of species. There were no where near as many as there once were. The entire planet had sort of died down at the fall of the Hutts. 

I could feel a pair of eyes boring through my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I found a young man in a nearby booth with his feet kicked up on the table.

He had dark brown, almost black hair. His face was left unshaven, a thin layer of facial hair trailed along his jaw, chin, and upper lip. He was a fairly attractive man, I had to admit that, but there was something odd about him. Something that I was drawn to and it most certainly wasn't an attraction.

_"Bringing you two in won't just make me a member of the Guild, it'll make me legendary."_

I winced as the words were forced into my head. I didn't know what it meant, but it hurt. His eyes remained on mine for a moment before looking me up and down.

He had something we needed.

I drew my bottom lip between my teeth flirtatiously and mimicked his gaze, shifting my eyes over his relaxed body.

"Think again, tin can." The mysterious man spoke. "If you're looking for work, have a seat, my friend... And his friend." He sent me a wink and gestured towards the booth in front of him. "Name's Toro, Toro Calican... Come on, relax."

Din nodded at the droid before sliding into the seat across from Toro. I slid in next to him, lacing my fingers again with his. The man made me feel uneasy and I couldn't let that go.

Especially those words that I heard. They sounded like _him_.

Toro placed a bounty puck on the table as it lit up with a familiar face, one that I hadn't seen in years.

"Picked up this Bounty Puck before I left the Mid Rim. Fennec Shand, an Assassin? Heard she's been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown."

"I know of her." I kept my voice soft, almost sultry. Seems like that was the only thing this guy listened to. I felt Din's grip tighten on my hand, forcing me to hold back the small grin that threatened to form on my face. "Brave of you to accept such a bounty."

"Or extremely stupid." Din mumbled.

"I followed this tracking fob here. Now the positional data suggests she's headed out beyond the Dune Sea. Should be an easy job."

"Well, good luck with that." Din tried to push me out of the booth in an attempt to leave, but I wouldn't budge.

"Wait, wait, wait, hey. I thought you needed work?"

"How long have you been with the Guild?" He questioned. I wanted to ask the same thing, but I had a different mission than Din. I had to play it safer.

"Long enough."

"Clearly not. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates, including the Hutts. If you go after her, you won't make it past sunrise."

I sighed and finally slid out of the booth, dropping Din's hand before anyone could see. He began walking towards the exit, his cape flowing gently behind him.

How dramatic.

"This is my first job." Toro ran after us, his voice quieter than before. "You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the Guild." He sighed. "I can't do it alone."

I smiled hopefully up at Din, wanting to take this chance to figure out why the Force was drawing me to this newbie bounty hunter. One of these days I would have to tell Din that secret too, but that could wait.

"Meet me at hangar three-five in half an hour. Bring two speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob." He held out his hand, waiting for Toro to place it in his hand.

That didn't happen.

Toro smashed it against the wall without thinking twice. Din tilted his head, staring at him with a complete lack of amusement. My eyebrows furrowed in equal confusion, wondering what would bring him to do such a thing.

"Don't worry, got it all memorized." He beamed.

"Half an hour." Din spoke sternly.

I sent Toro a quick wink before chasing after Din as he left through the door. His hands clenched and his posture was tense, practically stomping through the sandy walk ways. Oh my maker, was the Mandalorian _jealous_?

"Still think he's cute after that?"

I rolled my eyes and brushed my hand against the small bits of his arm not covered by beskar.

"I don't know." I paused, picking my next words extremely carefully. "There's someone else I can't seem to get off my mind" I threw his words back at him, grinning to myself as we walked back towards the hangar.


	21. Chapter 21

# 20

* * *

"That doesn't make any sense." Din sighed as we walked back through the entrance to the hangar. "You're contradicting yourself."

"No... All I'm saying is that while facial hair _is_ attractive, it can get really annoying and scratchy when you're kissing and stuff." I explained while waving my hands around my face.

It was a strange topic of conversation, sure, but he asked what made me so 'attracted' to Toro and I had to make something up. It got me thinking though. Does Din have facial hair? When does he shave? Does he cut his own hair or does he grow it out?

"You've kissed someone before?" His voice lowered as he stopped and turned towards me.

"Oh, Din." I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. "I've done _a lot_ more than kissing before."

I heard him let out a quiet, shaky breath before walking up the ramp of the ship. I giggled as I ran after him. It was fun when it was just the two of us goofing around. It reminded me of my earlier years here on Tatooine.

Of course I enjoyed teasing him as well. It was hard to break through his shell. Now, I wanted to see how far I could go. 

This was dangerous territory, us traveling together. Since the beginning I felt this... _passion_. Passion was dangerous for Jedi, that's what they were told.

I was thankful that I was no Jedi. At least, I wasn't trained to be.

My thoughts were interrupted by Din running over to me and grasping my forearms tightly. His breathing was heavy and his hands seemed to shake.

"The kid... He's gone, he- Hey!" He shouted and ran towards the woman in her glass office.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" The mechanic, Peli, had come out of the room with the crying child in her arms, trying to shush him.

"Where is he?" Din growled, threatening the droids. I quickly snatched my blaster, readying it to fire. 

"Quiet!" Peli approached up, bouncing the sniffling child. "It's okay... You woke it up! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?"

"Give him to me." I hissed and placed my blaster back on my thigh.

"Not so fast! You can't just leave a child all alone like that. You know, you two have an awful lot to learn about raisin' a young one."

Din and I both went quiet, silently agreeing with the woman. She was right. Neither one of us knew anything about taking care of a child. We thought that we would just figure out along the way, but it wasn't going so well.

" _Anyway_ , I started the repair on the fuel leak." She began, messing with a machine next to the ship. "There you go. I had a couple setbacks I want to talk to you about. You know, I didn't use any droids, _as requested_ , so it took me a lot longer than I expected."

Din sighed, trying to block out the rambling woman as he walked up the ramp to grab a bag of necessities for the both of us.

"But I figured you were good for the money since you have your girl and an extra mouth to feed."

The child cooed in response, gazing up at us. I practically melted under his loving stare.

"Thank you." We said in sync, looking to each other before agreeing to say nothing else and walk out the door.

"Oh, I guess I was right. You got a job, didn't you? You know, it's costing me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up." She followed us, continuing her never ending rant.

"Hey, Mando, Pretty girl, what do you think?" Toro sat against an old dingy speeder bike with another one across from him. "Not too shabby, huh?"

Din set the back on the back of the bike, refusing to acknowledge either one of the people talking to him. I saw Toro's eyes watching me so I finally decided to stroll over to him.

"My name's Myrah, actually, but thank you." I messed with the front of his open vest, cautious of my fingers brushing against his chest.

Toro looked over my shoulder, presumably at Din who was likely staring at us with a disapproving look. He was protective as hell and for what? 

"What'd you expect? This ain't Corellia." He nodded towards Peli, his eyes narrowing as they landed on the green child. "Ma'am."

He sat on his bike gesturing towards the extra space on the back. I sighed. "I'm sorry Toro." I looked back at Din who focused on fastening our bag. "I have to stick with my partner, you know? He wouldn't be able to do it without me."

I could see Din's chest lift as he chuckled and swung his leg over the seat. I followed his actions and wrapped my arms loosely around his torso. He seemed to hesitate, his body relaxing in my touch. I would have relished in the feeling, but the sound of Toro's bike speeding off ahead of us brought me back to reality.

"Are we going?" I teased as I laid my head on his shoulder. He scoffed and revved the bike's engine. Before I knew it, we were shooting off after Toro.

We raced over the sand dunes, occasionally speeding ahead of the other. I laughed and tucked my face in his neck to shield myself from the flying sand. I wondered if I could see my old home from here. 

I couldn't help but enjoy the moment of freedom. Flying through the air with my hair flowing behind me made me forget that we were on a mission in the first place. 

As long as we were together, I was sure that any place could be as wonderful as Sorgan.

Din raised his fist and slowed down our bike with Toro quickly following his actions.

"What's going on?"

"Look. Up ahead." Din pointed in the distance where a couple of large animals stood. I lifted my head and rested my chin against his shoulder, following his gaze.

Toro hopped off of his bike and grabbed his binoculars. He gazed through the scopes and moved closer to the edge of the sand dune, his face scrunching up in disgust.

"Tusken raiders. I heard the locals talking about this filth."

"Tuskens think they're the locals." I loosened my grip on Din as he spoke, relaxing against the back of the bike. "Everyone else is just trespassing."

"They're not so bad if you try to reason with them." I shrugged.

Toro scoffed. "Whatever they call themselves, they best keep their distance."

"Yeah?" Din spoke, his tone becoming more humorous and sarcastic. "Why don't you tell them yourself?"

Toro spun around to be met by two Tuskens, their hands loaded with weapons. I snorted, watching him jump back in fear of the raiders.

Din slid off of the bike and helped me down as well, his hand loosely grasping mine until we stood next to Toro. "Relax." He mumbled under his breath.

He began communicating with the sand people through their native sign language. I was shocked that he could communicate so well with them, but managed to sound like an absolute idiot with the Jawas.

"What are you doing?" Toro spoke, clearly confused by Din's actions. I guess if you didn't know their language, it would be a bit odd.

"Negotiating." He spoke quickly before continuing the silent conversation with the two.

"What's going on?"

"We need passage across their land... Let me see the binocs."

"Why?"

Din gave him an annoyed look, tilting his head. He held out his hand, completely unwilling to argue about the situation. If this was their land, then my home couldn't be too far. Maybe I could pay it a visit.

Toro set the binoculars in his hand while rolling his eyes. Din tossed them at the Tuskens' feet and spun on his heel, walking back to the bikes.

"What- Hey- Ugh!" Toro sighed and threw his head back in annoyance. "Those were brand new."

"Yeah?" Din asked. "They _were_."

I laughed and covered my mouth in an attempt to muffle my giggles. I threw my leg over the bike's seat behind Din, unable to contain my laughter anymore resulting in a sharp look from Toro.

Din revved the entire and almost immediately sped off, catching me off-guard. Before I knew it, we were already stopping again. This time, however, he immediately hopped off the bike.

"Get down." He demanded.

"What? Oh." Toro followed us as we crouched behind a sandy hill.

It appeared to be a body on the ground, dragged by a grunting Dewback. Strange. Not exactly a normal sight in Tatooine.

"Alright, tell me what you see." He told Toro.

"Well..." He turned to me, a smirk evident in his features. "I see a gorgeous woman."

I smiled and rolled my eyes playfully while Din gave us both a sharp look, his voice going monotonous. "I meant over the hill."

"Dewback. Looks like the rider is still attached... Is that her? Is that the target?"

"I don't know... I'll go." Din grabbed his blaster and looked between the two of us. "You two cover me. Stay down."

He stood and jogged towards the large animal while Toro and I grabbed our blasters.

"So, are you two not a thing?"

"What?" I felt my cheeks grow warm at the question. "No, no we're just partners."

"You two seem pretty close."

"We've been through a lot together. I trust him with my life."

He hummed. "You ever seen his face?"

"No." I shook my head. "I haven't. It's against the code."

"Don't you ever wonder what he looks like?" He questioned and leaned towards me.

I opened my mouth to deny it, but nothing came out. I _had_ thought about what he looks like. In fact, I think about it every time I talk to him. Every little piece of him was left a mystery and I both hated and loved it. It left me feeling like I _needed_ to know more.

"Well, is it her? Is she dead?" Toro shouted as he looked over the hill.

"It's another bounty hunter."

"Hey, I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff for yourself... Can I at least have that blaster?"

I rolled my eyes and continued to watch my partner. The more time I spent with the newbie, the less attractive he became. Still, I couldn't ignore what my mind was trying to tell me. Was I supposed to be careful with him? Or was I supposed to play into this?

"Get down!" Din yelled back at us.

I heard the soft ding of a shot hit the beskar of his armor. I knew he was safe, that was the important thing.

There was another ding and Din was flung over the edge of the hill. My eyes widened as I grasped his arms tightly in my hands, scanning over his body to check for any injuries.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked, the panic clear in my voice.

"I'm fine." He sighed and relaxed in the sand.

"What happened?" Toro looked over, confused.

"Sniper bolt." Din took another breath and crawled next to Toro. "Only an MK-modified rifle could make that shot."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Hit me in the beskar, and at that range, beskar held up."

"And thank Kriff for that." I let out a breath of relief, unable to take my eyes off of him. If he _had_ gotten hurt, I don't know what I would have done.

"Wait..." Toro paused. "I don't wear any beskar."

Din shrugged. "Nope."

"Well, so what do we do?"

"There isn't much we can do right now." I put my blaster back in its holster. "When it's dark, we can go. She has the high ground here and trust me, she won't waste it."

Din nodded and slid towards the bikes. "I'm gonna rest. You take the first watch." He pointed to Toro. "Stay low."

I smiled and slid after Din, leaving Toro to stand guard alone. "Mind if I join you?" I watched as he sunk down and leaned against the speeder bike.

He raised his head and shrugged. "Nope."

I lowered myself next to him and rested my head against his shoulder. I cautiously reached for his hand, threading my fingers between his. "You're okay? Like, really?"

"Yes, I am." He huffed and allowed himself to relax as he rested his head on top of mine. "You worry too much."

"It's because I care... You know, this planet really isn't so bad." He hummed in slight intrigue. "I used to live here... On Tatooine. Before everything got chaotic and people began supporting the Rebellion. I lived with this kind couple and their little girl. She lives on Coruscant now, but I would love to visit her again."

"Why did you leave?"

"The man had to go help some boy, roughly my age, I guess. So, us three girls all left for Coruscant... Then we heard threats of the Empire coming to find us and I had to leave." I shrugged, my grip on his hand tightening.

He sighed and began rubbing my hand with his thumb. I glanced down at our intertwined hands and felt a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.

"I wish we could stay like this..." I mumbled.

"I know."


	22. Chapter 22

# 21

* * *

Night had fallen, the moon rising high into the sky and leaving the desert plains dark and cold. I was woken up by the feeling of Din's hand leaving mine, shifting into his own lap. He must've been awake long before I was. 

I shivered and rubbed my eyes as I opened them, looking out across the dark sandy hills. It was unbelievable how unbearably hot it could be during the day only to practically freeze outside at night. 

"Alright, suns are down. Time to ride, Mando." 

I heard Toro speak. He let out a quiet sigh and made his way over, his boots kicking up the sand. 

"Come on, wake up." He whined.

"Oh, leave him alone, Toro. He hardly gets any rest." I cautiously scooted away from him to stand up without waking him. Or, at least not disturbing whatever rest he was currently getting.

Toro chuckled and continued to pester Din. "Look at you, asleep on the job, old man." He grabbed his blaster jokingly and pointed it at him. I had half a mind to pull mine on him instead.

"You done?" Din grumbled and turned his head towards Toro. 

"Yeah." Toro mumbled and holstered his blaster, his face growing pink from embarrassment. "Yeah. I was just, you know, waking you up. Come on."

"Get on your bike." He stood and began digging through the pack he had strapped to the speeder. "Ride as fast as you can towards those rocks."

"That's your plan?" Toro scoffed. "She'll snipe us right off the bikes."

Din tossed him a flash charge, something I guess the newbie bounty hunter had never seen before. If we hadn't been here to help him, I'm positive that he would already be dead.

"It's a flash charge." Din spoke as though it was the most obvious thing in the world while he swung his leg over his bike. "We alternate shots. It'll blind any scope temporarily. Combine that with our speed and we got a chance."

"They're a great tool for hunters. You might want to invest in some." I smiled and pulled myself on the bike behind Din.

"Woah, woah, woah, wait." Toro waved his hands around. "A _chance_?"

"You want to be a bounty hunter, right?" I chuckled and wrapped my arms around Din's torso. "Everything you do is a chance."

"Get ready." Din's voice broke through right before speeding off ahead of Toro. 

We sped towards the cliff as fast as we could with Toro not far behind us. Good, quick learner. Maybe he wasn't so bad. The Force must've sensed that in him.

Din fired the first flash charge as we neared the wall, its whiny sound hurt my ears. A shot was fired down towards us not long after, but thankfully we dodged it with ease.

"Now!" Din demanded.

Toro fired off his flash charge but he missed. Never mind. He was an idiot.

Her next shot hit the front of our speeder and threw us off the back of it. I groaned as I hit the ground. I could feel the edge of a small stone rip through my arm, but now was not the time to mention a minor injury. 

Din fired the final charge, giving Toro an actual chance to get up to the cliff. I could see him starting to make his way towards me, but was knocked back by another shot. 

My heart had stopped when I didn't hear the ding of it bouncing off of the beskar. I rushed over and fell to my knees in the soft sand next to his body.

"Din? Din, are you okay?" I looked over him, feeling a wave of relief wash over me when I saw the scoring on his chest plate. "Thank, Kriff." I let out a breath and shifted to cup his helmet in my hands.

He groaned and wrapped his hands around my wrists. "I'm fine..." He mumbled. "Help me up." I pulled him to his feet and kept my hold on his arms to stabilize him. "We need to get up there. He'll die if does this on his own."

"I know." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"What? Not so googly eyed over him anymore." 

I threw my head back in a quick laugh. "Oh, Din. You should know better than anyone that I was never _actually_ interested in him." 

I gave him a quick smile and ran up the hill. I saw the red light of a blaster shot illuminate the area paired with the sound of people going on in a fight and chose to follow that. I figured it was a safe bet. 

We found Toro down on the ground with Fennec's legs strangling him. Yeah, this definitely wouldn't have gone his way if we weren't around. 

"Nice distraction." Din spoke calmly, standing above them.

Fennec sighed, long and disappointed. She let go of Toro and sat up, looking defeated with our blasters pointed at her. 

Toro rolled over and practically wheezed as he laid on the ground. "Ugh, ow!" He pushed himself onto his knees and held his gut. "Yeah, good work, team."

"Cuff yourself." I grabbed the cuffs from Din's belt and tossed them in front of her. "You should probably go find your blaster, Toro."

"Will do, darlin'" He stood up and brushed himself off before venturing out to search for his weapon.

Fennec sat in front of us, cuffed, but with a small grin on her face. "A Mandalorian..." She spoke, a hint of admiration in her voice as she stared up at Din. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of your kind... Ever been to Nevarro?"

I could see Din's posture stiffen next to me. I wanted to reach out and tell him to not stress too much, but I couldn't right now. Not with Fennec here.

It had been months since that happened, were they still talking about it? Certainly it couldn't have been _that_ big of a deal, right?

"I hear things didn't go so well there, but it looks like you got off easy." She was smug, I didn't like it. My grip on my blaster tightened and my desire to aim the barrel to her head increased with every word that came out of her mouth.

"You don't have to worry about gettin' to Nevarro, or anywhere else once we turn you in." Toro spoke as he fished his gun out of the sand. "You know, I really should thank you. You're my ticket into the Guild." 

"You're welcome." Fennec answered sarcastically as Din pushed her down towards the bikes. "Uh-oh..." She chuckled. "Looks like one of us has to walk."

"Or maybe we should drag you behind us. Do you prefer to be dead weight or alive?" I snapped. A hand pulled me away and towards the bikes where the three of us reconvened. 

"Alright, so what is the plan?" Toro looked at us with furrowed brows. 

"I need you to go find that dewback we saw."

Toro scoffed. "And leave you two here with my bounty and my ride? Yeah, I don't think so, Mando."

"I'll go." I shrugged and looked over the hill, trying to see the beast from afar. 

"You're not going alone." Din quickly responded. "Watch her." He pointed to Toro and then to the quarry. "And don't let her get near the bike. She's no good to us dead."

We began walking towards the dewback, or at least, I assume that's where Din was leading me. He _was_ the one with the heat sensor after all. I trusted him enough to not lead me astray. 

"Didn't want to stick around with loverboy?" He teased.

"He's more of a one-and-done kind of guy and I'm way past done with him."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Mhmm" I hummed. "That's why I stick around with you. You're the kind of guy that sticks with you till the end."

Din stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze trained on me for what felt like an eternity. "You're one of a kind, Princess..."

I could feel the blush creep up my neck and onto my face. "Don't get all soft on me now, Din." I nudged him as we approached the dewback. "Make sure you don't treat it like how you treated the blurrg."

"Hey!" He chucked and detached the rider from the animal, gently petting its head. "I thought I did pretty well with it."

"Debatable." I shrugged. 

He moved closer to me, silently and in a way, threatening. His hands rested on my hips, his delicate touch causing my body to warm despite the cold desert breeze. Before I could even open my mouth to speak, he lifted me up onto the back of the animal.

"What did you think I was doing?" The smirk was evident in his voice as he pulled himself up.

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling me closer to him. "Maybe you were finally making a move or something." 

I could hear the sharp inhale of breath before he tapped the side of the dewback, instructing it on where to go. 

"Not out here." He mumbled so quietly that I wasn't even sure I heard him correctly. 

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" I hissed as I looked down at the lifeless body before me. "He knows... Din, he has to! She ran her mouth and-"

He shushed me as he took careful note of our surroundings with his hand on his blaster. He tapped his foot against the dewback again and turned us around towards the hangar.

The sun had set once again by the time we arrived. The clouds were covering the moon, casting little to no light on the land. Din hopped off of the animal's back and helped me down as well. It was way too quiet around here, I had no doubt in my mind that Toro was hiding somewhere near. 

We grabbed our blasters and made our way in the dark hangar. There was no sign of Peli or the child. Even the droids were deactivated.

"Took you long enough, Mando!" Toro emerged from the shadows of the Razor Crest, holding the child in one arm while pushing Peli down the ramp with the other. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now. Huh, _team_? Drop your blasters and raise 'em."

My eyes widened at his words as my jaw fell slack. "What? Why would you-"

"I said: _drop your blasters_." He demanded, walking down the ramp towards us.

I took a deep breath and let my blaster fall to the ground, followed by Din's. I looked over at him, desperately hoping that he had a plan. We placed our hands behind our heads and stared at Toro, waiting for his next move. 

"Cuff 'em." He shoved Peli forward and glanced down at the cooing child. "You two are Guild _traitors_."

He raised his blaster and pointed it at the two of us. There has always been something incredibly discomforting about staring down the barrel of a gun. 

"And I'm willing to bet that this here is the target you guys helped escape." Toro directed his blaster towards the child. I flinched as it whimpered, wanting more than anything to run to its aid.

Peli approached us with the cuffs in her hands, fidgeting nervously with them between her fingers. "You're smarter than you look." I heard her whisper, noticing the flash charge that Din held behind his head.

"Fennec was right... Bringing you two in won't just make me a member of the Guild, it'll make me legendary." He chuckled and pointed the blaster back at us. I trusted Din, but I fully prepared to feel the pain of the shot.

A bright light filled the building, blinding anyone who wasn't prepared. Luckily, I had my eyes squeezed shut in fear of dying.

Toro fired randomly, blinded by the light that had soon dissipated. Din snuck to the side of the ship and shot Toro in the chest just as he turned to face him. His body flew off the ramp, dropping the child in the process.

I wanted to run over to him and kick him or punch him in the face, but I was stopped by Din's hand on my shoulder.

"Stay back."

I thought about it, truly I did, but I couldn't. I pushed past him and kicked Toro over onto his back. One thing was for certain: Toro was dead.

"Where is it?" Peli asked as she looked around for the child.

A soft babbling came from behind the box, a babbling that I knew incredibly well. I ran over and scooped the green baby in my arms, cradling him to my chest. I placed a gentle kiss on his head and shut my eyes, his safe presence was calming me. 

"So, I take it you didn't get paid?" Peli sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

Din snatched a bag of credits off of Toro's body and dumped them in the mechanic's hand. "That cover us?"

"Yeah." Peli paused and looked over the coins. "Yes, this is gonna cover you."

I mumbled a quick thank you and boarded the ship with the child in my arms and Din not far behind me. Certainly there wouldn't be too much more trouble in the upcoming days, if we lasted that long. 


	23. Chapter 23

# 22

* * *

"Ouch... Ouch! Ouch, watch it!" Myrah snapped and ripped her arm away from the Mandalorian. Her bicep was red and crusted in dried blood. 

"If you had told me about it sooner, we wouldn't have this problem." He grumbled under his breath as he tried to pull the strings of her shirt that stuck to the somewhat fresh wound. 

She shrugged and looked down at the cut on her arm. It was bright and swollen, but it wasn't too deep. All it needed was a good cleaning and bandage. She couldn't figure out why he was so upset about it.

"Well, we had more pressing matters at the time. You know, dealing with Fennec and all."

"So this was when we got knocked off the bike?" He sat back on the stool he had placed next to the cot where Myrah sat. "We could have wrapped it."

"But if I had told you back then," she grabbed his hand and pulled it from her arm, "we wouldn't get to play medic right now." She sent him a playful wink and her signature charming grin that made his heart beat faster.

He sighed and pulled his hand away, trying to calm the rapid pulsing of his heart. "Take off your jacket."

"Woah!" She raised her hands in the air and let out an innocent giggle. "You could at least take me to dinner first."

"Shut up and take off the jacket." He snapped.

"Pushy, much?" She rolled her eyes and peeled off her jacket to reveal the black long-sleeve she wore beneath it. Din tilted his head in judgement and crossed his arms over his chest. "What? You want me to take this off too?"

"It's that or cut the sleeve off." He paused. "How many layers do you have?"

She shrugged and brought her hands to the bottom of her top, starting to strip it from her body. Din's hands quickly caught hers and pulled the shirt back down to hide her stomach.

"We should just cut the sleeve." His face began to warm and flush red beneath the helmet.

"Don't want to see me shirtless, Din?" She drew out the name, the corners of her lips quirking up.

"Stop." He growled and grabbed the knife from his boot, quickly slicing the sleeve off her shirt.

Her face contorted into one of disgust. "When was the last time you cleaned that? Didn't you use it on the mudhorn?"

"Yup." He answered simply and grabbed a few items from the medic box, setting them next to her on the small bed.

"Ew." She shuddered and watched him work. "You know, maybe it would be easier if you didn't have those beefy gloves." His head snapped to hers in a way that she couldn't interpret. "What? It's not against the code. Don't forget that I know the rules too."

He nodded and hesitantly pulled his gloves from his hands, his gaze never leaving hers. Her lips lifted into a smile that made his heart swell. He was upset that she hadn't told him she was hurt, but seeing her smile made him realize that he could never stay mad with her.

Myrah's eyes wandered down to his hands, wanting to reach out and trace her fingers over them. It felt crazy to want so desperately to touch his _hands_ , but she had been so deprived of anything else from him.

Sure, they had their playful banter and bonding moments, but never physical. The closest they had been was when she fixed his wound way back when. Since then, she hadn't seen even a sliver of skin, no proof that he was even human.

But here? Now? All she wanted to do was hold his hand, run her fingers over his skin just to know what it felt like. She could feel her hands twitch in anticipation, her heart leaping from her chest as the air grew thick.

Her thoughts were interrupted once she felt his hands gently grasping her arm to hold it in place. He poured a small canteen of water on her wound and wiped away the blood that surrounded her cut.

His hands were softer than she expected, but he did wear gloves all of the time. At first she suspected they would be rougher from years of hunting. The gloves must have protected his skin from becoming worn out.

She winced slightly as he used a soft cloth to dry the area. His eyes lifted to meet hers while he carefully rubbed a healing ointment into her skin. He studied her behind his mask. From the way she closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths to her relaxed posture and how she leaned into his touch.

He took a deep, shaky breath and forced himself to tear his eyes from her. He found himself lost in thought, wondering if her hair was as soft as it always looked. He had to stop himself from reaching to brush away the gentle strands that fell in front of her face.

With the bandage wrapped firmly around her arm, he stood up, happy to pull himself away from a potentially messy situation. Then he felt something warm grasp his hand and pull him back. He couldn't bring himself to fight it.

"Where are you going?" 

"I was going to fly the ship." His voice came out soft and low.

"It's on autopilot. Besides, we don't have any specific destination." She didn't know why these words were spilling from her mouth. She desperately wished she could keep her trap shut for once.

He couldn't look at her. He knew that with one look he would stay and never want to leave. "You need rest."

"So do you..." She sighed and packed away the medical supplies in a small cubby. "Care to join me?" She held out her hand and scooted further back. She already figured she was in too deep, too late to stop now. 

He watched her movements from the corner of his eye, feeling a soft fluttering in his chest that drew him to the woman in his bed. After a moment, he nodded and flicked off the main cabin lights, leaving nothing but a dim light above the bed to light the area.

Din awkwardly sat at the end of the cot, his posture stiff and tense. It was a small space and he certainly didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but he had no sense of what to do. He was no monk, but this was different. He cared so much for her and was terrified of making a mistake. 

"Relax." She giggled and grabbed his hand, feeling his hand immediately grip hers.

Her fingers traced the lines of his palm. Slowly, dauntingly, causing a ghost of a shiver to roll down his spine. He could have melted into her touch no matter how small it was.

"Come back here."

At this point, she didn't have to ask him twice.

He pushed himself to the back of the small cot, still sitting, but present and there with her.

"You know... If we turn off that light, it'll be pitch black in here. I won't be able to see anything." She glanced up and threaded her fingers between his, pressing their palms against one another. Din swore she could feel his heart speed up.

"You could take off the helmet and be comfortable." She whispered and squeezed his hand.

He didn't say anything, not even so much as a nod. He simply reached up and pressed the button to the light. Nothing more needed to be said.

Darkness immediately encompassed them, not even a shadow could be seen. The ship was silent, the child was asleep, and they were peacefully soaring through the skies.

It was a few moments before Myrah felt his hand leave hers. She heard a soft hiss, followed by the clink of metal against the stool beside the cot. That alone made her breath hitch and caused her heart to pick up speed.

His hand found hers again, playing with her fingers. He simply enjoyed the feeling of her soft hand against his. His heart had dropped to his stomach in fear. Of what? Who knows. But he was nervous as hell and just wanted to hear her say _something_.

Myrah managed to steady her breath and leaned against him. Her hand pulled from his and reached up towards his face, her fingers barely brushing against his cheek. His jaw clenched and tensed against her touch.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled nervously. "Is this okay?"

"Mhm..." He hummed and allowed himself to relax. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched his face, even so much as a graze. The feeling was exhilarating yet absolutely terrifying.

"Well, you need to shave."

He chuckled, a warm, soothing chuckle that Myrah found so much sweeter without the modulator. If she could hear the sound on replay, she would.

She turned her body to face him and cupped his jaw in her hands, rubbing her thumbs over the slight stubble. Hesitantly, she pulled her leg over his hip and slid onto his lap, running her hands through his soft hair. The closeness was something the two desperately craved.

"And a haircut."

He let out a quiet gasp and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. "Maybe you can help with that sometime."

There was the voice. The voice she was waiting to hear. It sent a shiver down her spine and brought goosebumps to her arms.

"You'd trust me with scissors around you when I can't even look at you?"

He hummed and lowered his head to the crook of her neck while she played with his hair. She was intoxicating to him. Everything about her left him wanting more.

"Din?" Myrah felt his nose press into her neck with his lips relaxed against her collar bone. It nearly drove her mad.

"Yes?"

"Thank you..."

"What for?" He lifted his head and moved his hand to her hair, running his fingers through the strands.

It _was_ just as soft as he imagined.

His fingers trailed down her jaw and held her chin as though she could break at any moment. She sort of felt like she could.

"For trusting me... After everything I did, I-"

"How could I not? We're in this together, right?" His other hand rubbed soft shapes on her back through her shirt. He felt like everything in the galaxy could stop and he would be perfectly fine with it.

"Right." The word came out breathy, hardly spoken at all, but Din heard it.

His hand wrapped around to the back of her neck, wanting more than anything to pull her closer. This was something they both wanted, right? He was ready to risk it all. The code, the emotions, the wall he had built.

But the sound of a gentle cooing put all of his actions to a halt.

They both groaned in irritation, especially when they heard the soft patter of the child running.

Myrah rolled off of Din and onto her side next to him, facing the wall. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Looking down at the woman next to him, he wondered what would have happened if there was no interruption.

It didn't seem like she would have stopped, but what would have happened to them? Would anything have changed? Would they pretend it never happened? Why did he-

"Lay down." Myrah mumbled and struggled to find his hand behind her. "Relax, Din. Sleep."

He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. He unbuckled the rough armor and laid down next to her in the underclothes he wore.

It wasn't as uncomfortable as he expected from the small area. His arm draped over her waist, allowing her to hold his hand as she had wanted while he rested his head against the back of her shoulder.

"Will do, Princess." He purred as they both drifted into arguably the best sleep they've ever had.


	24. Chapter 24

# 23

* * *

I hummed and reached across the small space of the cot only to find it warm, yet empty. After opening my eyes, I realized that I was left alone in the bed with Din nowhere in sight. There was a sharp pain in my chest of what almost felt like disappointment. 

Why was I disappointed? I shouldn't be surprised, really. 

But did it mean something?

_Who cares_?

A small whisper in the back of my head told me to leave before this could go too far. Both for his sake and for mine. Din has a code he has to stick to and I don't want to be the reason he breaks it. And me? I shouldn't be staying in one place for too long.

I can't leave the kid, though. He's strong with the force and barely trained at that. If that energy got into the wrong hands - well, again - there would be complete chaos once more.

I spent so much time on the run, maybe I was finally safe. Then again, hunters are still after the kid. 

I have to stay here.

I sat up and pulled myself to the edge of the thin mattress. It was quite possibly the least comfortable thing I have ever slept on, but with Din, I would happily sleep there every night. 

I doubted it would happen again.

There wasn't much in the belly of the ship. The cot, a little bathroom, _lots_ of guns and ammunition, but nothing personal. Does he even have anything personal? Has he spent his whole life hunting and on the run?

I guess my life hasn't been much different lately. 

I found the helmeted man sitting peacefully in his pilot's seat, soaring the Razor Crest through the starry skies. Part of me wanted to wrap my arms around him but a louder voice said to just sit down and pretend it never happened. I went with the latter.

"Good morning." I mumbled quietly. I wasn't sure if I should say anything at all.

He spun around in the chair, his head cocking to the side as he faced me. "You're up." He spoke with a soft breath. "I was going to come back."

"Don't worry about it."

"Oh." My heart cracked at the subtle pain in his voice. "I found another mission."

"You what?" I spat, rising from my seat.

"What? It's a small mission with people I used to work with."

My face was heating up at his nonchalance. "Don't you think we should have talked about this first?" 

"It isn't a big deal. It's a simple mission." He shrugged.

I scoffed quietly, trying not to get too riled up. Things were going well with us and I didn't want to be the one to ruin it but this was crossing a line. 

"Din, I'm your partner. We're supposed to discuss things like this before agreeing to them. We're putting the child in danger!" I ran my hand through my hair, trying to detangle it from the mess it had become. 

"You're overreacting again."

"Excuse me?" My eyes grew wide. "I'm overreacting _again_? When was the other time?"

"You're _always_ making things about you." He growled "Guess what, Princess? This is _my_ ship and I don't need a partner. You tagged along because you wanted to." 

The wind had been knocked from my lungs and the burning rage that built up inside me felt like fire. Along with it, there was a pain that brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to explode and shout, but I didn't.

My hands balled into fists, followed by the soft crunch of the armrests of the chair I once sat in. I didn't dare look back at it. Instead, I turned and climbed back down to the living quarters of the ship.

It was about to be a very long ride to wherever we were going. 

* * *

We sauntered down the ramp into the base as far away from one another as possible. It was dark and kind of smelled like rotting fish. I had to try to hold my breath just to escape the horrid stench.

A fairly large man with long, wild gray hair stood in front of us once we reached the floor. His name was Ran, according to Din. He tried to at least brief me on what he knew. 

"This is going to go very badly." I mumbled, only loud enough for Din to hear. 

"Mando!" The man shouted with a wide, gross grin. "Is that you under that bucket?" He held out his grimy hand towards us. "Hey... Who's the lady?" He sent a wink in my direction.

It took everything I had not to gag.

"Ran." Din shook his hand briefly. "This is my partner, Myrah."

I wanted to be mad at him, but I felt my heart thump when he called me his partner. 

"I didn't really know if I'd ever see you in these parts again. Good to see you." Ran threw his arm around Din's shoulders and led him around the ship while I trailed behind.

"You know, to be honest, I was a little surprised when you reached out to me." He pulled his arm back and began to slow his pace as he spoke. "You know, 'cause I...I hear things." He paused and looked between us with a cocked brow. "Like, maybe things between you and the Guild aren't workin' out."

"I'll be fine." Din spoke, his tone cold and stern. After our little visit on Tatooine, I'm sure he wanted nothing to do with the Guild. 

"Okay... Well, you know the policy." Ran threw his hands up in mock surrender and stepped towards us. "No questions. And you... You're welcome back here anytime." He patted his shoulder firmly "Especially with the cute one back there." He laughed, booming and annoying.

"So what exactly is this job?" I asked and walked to the edge of the old balcony, overlooking the Razor Crest. "Some stupid repairs? That's not exactly what we do."

Ran chuckled and shook his head, walking closer to me. Now I knew where the fish smell came from. It made me want to vomit. 

"One of our associates ran afoul of some competitors and got himself caught. So, I'm putting' together a crew to spring him. It's a five person job. I got four. All I need is the ride and y'all brought it... and extra." 

Din stepped between Ran and I, something I felt like I would have to thank him for later. "The ship wasn't part of the deal."

"Well, the Crest is the only reason I let you back in here." He let out a breathy chuckle. "What's the look? Is that gratitude?" He joked. "Uh huh. I think it is." 

I looked up at Din once Ran had walked out of earshot. "I change my mind...This is going to go _very_ badly." I hissed.

I watched his chest rise as he took a deep breath and nodded, both of us following after the creepy man.

"Hey, Mayfeld." Ran beamed as we approached a bald man who was working on organizing files.

"Yeah?"

"This is Mando, the guy I was tellin' you about. We used to do jobs back when...And this is Myrah. His- uh- partner, I guess."

"This is the guy?" Mayfeld pointed to Din with his eyebrows knitted together. 

"Yeah, we were all young, tryin' to make a name for ourselves..."

I stepped closer to Din with my eyes wide. "Are you as old as that guy? Because I swear if you look as rotten as him-"

"Not by a long shot, Princess." He whispered back.

We were interrupted by Ran's obnoxious laughter. "Yeah, but runnin' with a Mandalorian, that was... That brought us some reputation."

"Oh, yeah? What did he get out of it?" Mayfeld practically stared daggers at him. For some reason, he already had some vendetta against us. 

"I asked him that one time." Ran chuckled. "You remember what you said, Mando? _Target Practice_." Mayfeld laughed but his stare returned shortly after. "Man, we did some crazy stuff, didn't we?"

"That was a long time ago." Din sighed, trying to get the conversation over and done with.

"Well, I don't go out anymore. You understand?" Ran explained. "So, uh, Mayfeld, he's gonna run point on the job. If he says it, it's like it's comin' from me... You good with that?"

Din paused, staring Mayfeld down before answering. "You tell me."

Ran laughed. Again. I suspect he just thought everything was funny, but Kriff, it was annoying. 

"You haven't changed one bit."

Oh, if you only knew.

"Yeah, well, things have changed around here." Mayfeld quickly turned to get back to his work.

"Mayfeld, he's-" Ran nodded in agreement with himself, "he's one of the best triggermen I've ever seen...Former Imperial sharpshooter."

I snorted and tried to hold back the laugh that threatened to come out. "That's not saying much."

"I wasn't a stormtrooper, wiseass." Mayfeld quickly snapped. 

He followed us as we began walking back to the Razor Crest. Apparently we were supposed to be meeting the rest of the team. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to meet some of Din's old pals.

" _Razor Crest_?" Mayfeld spoke disgustedly. "I can't believe that thing can fly... Looks like a Canto Bight slot machine." He chuckled and led us around. "Alright, the good-lookin' fellow there with the horns, that's Burg."

The red, horned man dropped a box and grunted as he glared at us. He was tall and ugly, but he must have some use.

"This may surprise you, but he's our muscle."

See? Some use.

Burg stalked towards Din, standing close to him as though he was sizing him up. "So, this is a Mandalorian..." He grunted. "I thought they'd be bigger."

Mayfeld chuckled and brought us to a bug-looking droid that held a blaster in its robotic hands. "Droid's name is Zero."

"I thought you said you had four." Din growled with his focus remaining on the droid. He's never liked the robots.

"He does." A high-pitched feminine voice spoke up behind us. It was sort of squeaky and in my honest opinion, irritating.

A purple Twi'lek was slowly approaching us while spinning a knife in her hand. She wore a wicked and borderline suggestive grin. "Hello, Mando..."

Wait.

"Xi'an." His voice was breathy.

Wait a second.

"Tell me why I shouldn't cut you down where you stand?" She swiftly moved towards him, holding the knife to his throat. He, of course, didn't flinch or move in the slightest.

"Nice to see you, too."

Oh, Kriff, don't tell me that this is an ex-girlfriend. 

Xi'an burst out into a squeaky laugh and leaned in towards his helmet. I felt my stomach twist into a knot as I felt an overwhelming urge to rip her away. I'm sure it was just a stomach ache.

"I missed you...This is shiny." She tapped the blade of her knife against his beskar chest plate and clicked her tongue. "You wear it well." She flirted.

I felt my nails dig into the palms of my hands. Not enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a sharp indentation. 

"Do we need to leave the room or something?" Mayfeld quipped.

I could feel a familiar heat rise to my face. Not the normal blissful one that I wish I felt, but an agitated one that made my face twitch. 

"I think we just might." I growled.

"Well, Xi'an's been a little heartbroken since Mando left our group." Ran spoke up with a shrug.

"Aw. You gonna be okay, sweetheart?" Mayfeld teased. 

"Oh, I'm all business now." She pointed her knife to Din's helmet with a grin. "Learned from the best."

I could feel the anger bubble in my chest when Xi'an turned and winked at Din. His warm presence neared me, his helmet leaning down to my ear with a soft chuckle.

"Is that envy, Princess?"

I shouldn't be angry but I _was_ angry. Still, his voice made me shiver and grow weak against him. 

In a way, that made me even more mad.

I spun around to say something, but was interrupted by Burg's towering presence. "Tiny." He laughed and followed after the group.

I looked over at Din one more time, my face feeling hotter than it did on Tatooine under the bright sun. Any words that I could possibly conjure up didn't seem to come out. I kept my glare steady for a few moments more before I took off after the group.

And here I thought he was sorry for what happened earlier. 


	25. Chapter 25

# 24

* * *

"What exactly is the plan for this? Are we just winging it?" I stared at them all with an angry, rage-filled glare. Especially the Twi'lek. She had just bumped herself to first on my list. 

"No, sweetheart. We got a plan." Mayfeld barked and pulled us over to a table, lighting up a hologram of the ship. "So, the package is being moved on a fortified transport ship. Now, we got a limited window to board, find our friend, and get him out of these before they make their jump."

Din was quiet as he looked down at the table. I had to admit, the ship looked incredibly familiar. I just couldn't quite place it. 

"That's a New Republic prison ship." Din glanced over at Ran, his posture screamed annoyance. 

"Your slimy friend wasn't taken by _some enemies_. They were arrested!" I growled. "You have got to be kidding me." I turned my glare to Din. 

Of course he had gotten us into this sort of mess. 

"So what?" Mayfeld leaned forward with a sly grin on his face. 

"A job is a job." Ran shrugged simply.

"That's a max security transport and we're not looking for that kind of heat." Din spoke, his voice was low and intimidating. 

"Well," Ran chuckled, "neither are we. So just don't mess up."

"The good news for you is the ship is manned by droids." Xi'an spoke softly and strolled towards us. "Still hate the machines, Mando?" She leaned dangerously close to his helmet, whispering quietly enough for only him and me to hear. 

She was one whisper away from a blaster shot to the face. Or worse. 

"Despite recent modifications, the ship is still quite a mess." Zero spoke as it sauntered down the ramp. "The power lines are leaking, the navigation is intermittent, and the hyperdrive is only operating at sixty-seven point three efficiency... We have much better ships. Why are we using this one?"

I was wondering that same thing. Mainly, I didn't want any of them near the child. Taking our ship would only risk that chance.

"Cause the Razor Crest is off the old Imperial _and_ the New Republic grid. It's a ghost." Ran explained.

"Yeah, and we need a ship that can get close enough to jam New Republic code. So, when we drop out of hyperspace here," Mayfeld switched the hologram to a map of the galaxy and continued, "if we immediately bank into this kind attitude, we should be right in their blind spot. Which will give us just enough time for your ship to scramble our signal."

"It's not possible. Even for the Crest." Din looked to them, knowing full-well that it could. He must've held my same worries. Or, he genuinely didn't know his own ship that well.

"That's why he's flyin'." Ran nodded towards Zero, forcing a laugh out of Mayfeld. Din tilted his head, his signature sign of irritation. "Mando, I know you're a pretty good pilot, but we need you on the trigger. Not on the wheel. Unless your girl here can fly, there's no other way."

"Don't worry, Mandalorian." The robotic voice broke through. "My response time is quicker than organics. And I'm smarter too."

"Don't forget humble." I snarled.

"Alright, I- Yeah, that's good." Ran patted the robots shoulder and shoved it away. "Forgive the programming. He's a little rough around the edges... But he is the best."

"How can you trust it?" Din grumbled and pointed at Zero.

"You know me, Mando. I don't trust anybody." I could feel his eyes follow us as we walked up the ramp. "Just like the good old days, Mando. Huh?"

Din remained silent and raised the hatch. "You should join the others."

"Right. Wouldn't want to get in the way of _your_ ship."

"Myrah, I-"

I stopped him and shook my head. I didn't want to hear any excuses, all I wanted was an apology. He, unfortunately, was too proud to ever do that.

I climbed down the ladder into the belly of the ship where the others gathered. Each one claimed their own spot on the ship, nearing closer and closer to where we hid the child. 

"Will you sit _down_?" Xi'an hissed at the red beast that wandered aimlessly.

I never wanted to agree with her, but his pacing around _was_ rather irritating. 

He banged his fists against the ceiling and laughed, resulting in a hiss from the purple Twi'lek. We hadn't even jumped to hyperspace and they were already the worst people I had ever travelled with.

"Have some respect, will you?" I groaned and leaned against the wall near the ladder. 

"You're lucky we're letting you come along, sweetheart." Mayfeld wielded a wicked grin that I wanted to smack off his face.

"Don't call me that...Hey- Stop that!" I shouted at the Burg that had started poking around at the panel next to me. 

He bursted into another deep, belly laugh once he had opened Din's weapon closet. I heard a thump next to me right as Burg started fishing through the guns. Before he could grab hold of anything, it slammed shut in front of him. 

He grunted in frustration and turned towards Din who had just recently joined our oh so wonderful party of misfits. Burg threatened to press the button to the cot where he stowed the child, growling and rifling through our stuff.

I started to move forward, but was cut off by Din who had firmly grasped his wrist and pulled him away. Burg growled and neared his helmet, baring his teeth. 

Disgusting. Practically animalistic. 

"Hey, hey hey." Mayfeld interrupted. "Okay. Okay. Okay, I get it. I'm a little particular about my personal space, too." We watched as the two circled each other while Din guarded the door. "So let's just do this job. We get in, we get out, and you don't have to see our faces anymore."

"Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian." Burg growled and practically stared daggers into Din's helm.

"Well, apparently they're the greatest warriors in the galaxy... So they say." Mayfeld shrugged, his sarcasm leaking through his words.

I scoffed and pushed the Burg away, stalking towards the cocky bald man. Not that he had much to say.

"They are, actually. I've never seen anyone take on a Mandalorian and live to tell the tale."

Well, there was me, but that was a completely different situation. 

"Then why are they all dead?" Burg spat, causing the others to laugh.

"Well, you flew with him, Xi'an." Mayfeld turned towards the purple woman. "Is he as good as they say?"

"Ask him about the job on Alzon III." She spoke while focusing on balancing her knife at the tip of her finger. 

Din paused and looked over at the others. "I did what I had to."

Xi'an giggled in her annoyingly high-pitched tone. "Oh, but you _liked_ it... See, I know who you really are." She smiled and shifted her stare towards me, eyeing me up and down in a judgmental gaze.

"He never takes off the helmet?" Mayfeld asked.

"This is the Way." Xi'an mocked.

I laughed quietly to myself. Sure, he _never_ takes off the helmet. 

"Huh... I wonder what you look like under there." Din and Mayfeld battled in a stare-down. "Maybe he's a Gungan." He stifled a stiff laugh. "Is that why yousa don't wanna show your face?"

Again, they all burst into a series of agitating laughs. I almost plugged my ears at the sound that filled my ears. 

"You ever seen his face?" Mayfeld asked Xi'an. Part of me was afraid to know the answer.

Xi'an let out an over dramatic gasp. "A lady _never_ tells."

"What about you?" He turned to me with a smug grin.

"I'm struggling to see where it's any of your business." I snapped.

"Aw, come on, Mando. We all gotta trust each other here. You gotta show us somethin'." His grin grew as Burg inched closer to him. "Come on. Just lift the helmet up... Come on." He encouraged. "Let's all see your eyes."

Din looked over to me, almost as a plea for help. I was frozen in the moment, not sure what to do. Burg had grown within arms length of Din and reached for the brim of the helmet. 

"I'll do it." He growled.

I jumped forward and threw a punch to his red, irritating face. He stumbled into the refresher, but quickly spun around, ready to pull back his arm for a hit. Before he could, my foot landed against his chest and forced him further back into the small corner.

His hand happened to press just the right button to lift the door on the cot as he fell, revealing the small green child that stood at its edge. He cooed and glanced around in curiosity, specifically at the new people that surrounded him.

"Whoa!" Mayfeld stood. "What is that?" He chuckled and moved towards the child. "You get lonely up here, buddy? Huh?"

Din and I were stuck in our places, not wanting to break out into another fight and possibly harm the child. We also didn't want them anywhere near it, but it was a bit too late for that.

"Wait a minute." Mayfeld paused and looked between us. "Did you two make that? What is it, like a pet or somethin'?"

"Yeah." Din hardly spoke. "Something like that."

"Didn't take you for the type." Xi'an grinned and stepped up to him. "Maybe that code of yours has made you soft."

That was it.

I shoved her back and grabbed a knife from my belt, clashing it against hers in what resembled a mini-sword fight until I pushed her against the wall and held my knife to her throat. My hand twitched as her hands reached up and grasped her neck, desperately trying to take a breath. 

"Myrah." Din growled quietly and pulled me back to his side. 

Everyone stared at us while Xi'an dropped back to the ground, steadying her breath. She and I continued our stares while Mayfeld went on as though nothing happened.

"Me, I was never really into pets. Yeah, I didn't have the temperament. Patience, you know?" He shrugged. "I mean, I tried, but never worked out. But I'm thinkin' maybe I'll try again with this little fella."

He scooped up the child in his arms and threatened to drop him. Both Din and I flinched and moved our hands towards our blasters. I swear, if they kept acting like this, I was leaving them behind. 

"Dropping out of hyperspace now." Zero spoke up, hardly giving us any warning before we were tossed around as the ship slowed. "Commencing final approach, now." 

We were all whipped around again, hitting the walls and floor. I landed harshly on the floor, but managed to grab onto the child and cradle him in my arms. 

"Engaging coupling now." He said as he finally landed the ship. "Coupling confirmed. We are down. And relax. Commence extraction now."

Din helped pull me to my feet, taking the child and hiding him back in the cot before rushing back over to me. His hands firmly grasped my arms as his head moved over my body, checking for any bruises or cuts. My arm that we had just wrapped was throbbing, but it would be fine in a few hours if I was careful with it. 

"Useless droid didn't even give us a proper countdown." Xi'an hissed, her eyes narrowing as she looked in our direction. 

"Z, are you sure they can't see us?" Mayfeld spoke into his com link.

"The Razor Crest is scrambling our signature and I am inside the prison system. It's impressive that this gunship had survived the Empire without being impounded." Zero practically gawked.

"All right, we got a job to do." Mayfeld spoke. "Mando, you're up."

I looked around at the others while Din worked on opening the hatch into the prison. Xi'an was whispering something to Mayfeld while sharing an uncomfortable stare with Burg. It seemed like we were being kept out of the loop on something. 

"It's me?" Mayfeld spoke nervously as everyone stared at him.

"Always you." Burg grunted.

The others took their time hopping down to the ground below, careful of any droids standing guard. Din looked over at me, both of us wanting to say something, but not quite sure of what.

He jumped down with me not far behind.

Boy, would this be a journey. 


	26. Chapter 26

# 24

* * *

"All right, we're on the clock." Mayfeld ordered. "The second we engage those droids, they're gonna be all over us."

Maybe Din worked well with being ordered around, but I didn't. I've never liked working with a group. Especially one as dimwitted as this one. 

"I know the drill." Din spoke calmly.

"Bio trackers activated. I've got eyes." Zero interrupted through the comms.

"All right, let's go."Mayfeld grabbed his blasters and led us through the halls. It was a maze of bright white. Each turn looked exactly the same as the other. 

The prisoners stared at us intensely as we ran by with weapons drawn. I still couldn't believe that we were attacking a New Republic prison ship. Their friend couldn't possibly be _that_ important.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." I mumbled, sticking close to Din despite my resonating anger with him.

He nodded in agreement and watched as the people peered at us through their bars. "I don't like this either."

"You always were paranoid." Xi'an purred.

"Is that true, Mando?" Mayfeld mocked. "Were you always paranoid?"

An irritated prisoner slammed against their door and screamed out. Of course, they all wanted set free. 

This was a mistake.

"Approaching control room." Zero's voice broke through again. "Make a left at the next juncture."

We followed his instructions, staying cautious and wary of any guards that may be lurking. A small mouse droid beeped as it entered the hall, chattering away. We all froze, not wanting to alert it of our presence. 

"What?" Burg asked with his loud, gruff voice. "It's just a little mousey." He grabbed his blaster from his belt and held it behind his back as he spoke to the little droid. "Come here, little mousey."

"Burg." Mayfeld warned. 

"Mousey, come here." He continued. "Come here."

"Burg, stop. You're gonna get us in trouble." I hissed through my teeth.

It started to drive away, ignoring Burg's request to come closer. I watched as the anger grew on his scrunched face. He pulled his blaster out and before we could react, he shot the droid, blowing it in two. 

"No! Burg, what are you doin'?" Mayfeld scowled as he moved towards the red, angry man.

"What?" He asked nonchalantly.

A series of tall security droids entered the hall, their blasters held high. "Intruder alert. Open fire."

We all hid behind the protruding walls in the corridor, trying to fire back at the droids that did, indeed, open fire on us. I grabbed the hilt at my hip, snapping it into a staff with the quick click of a button. 

"We're too exposed here." Xi'an shouted.

Mayfeld fired, missing the droid entirely. "If they get a signal out, it's not gonna matter."

We would be dead if the Republic sent any of their fighters out here. We had to do something and we had to do something fast if we wanted to save our skins.

"Mando, let's go!" Mayfeld yelled. "You're supposed to be somethin' special." We all turned to find Din nowhere in sight. The corners of my mouth quirked into a small grin as I turned back towards the threat. 

"I knew it. I knew it!" Mayfeld exclaimed as he realized Din was no longer around. 

I snickered to myself and watched as Din snuck behind the security droids, his footsteps light, not to be heard at all despite his heavy boots. With a flick of his wrist, the blade of his knife flipped out of its socket seamlessly.

He slid forward and sliced off a droid's leg in one easy swipe. After jumping back up to his feet, he kicked back a second droid while firing a shot to the chest of another. 

My jaw fell slightly as I watched him, slowly stepping out from my hiding spot. Sure, I could have helped him. In all honesty, I probably _should_ have helped him, but I knew he could handle it. 

A stumbling, weak droid fired a blast, ricocheting off of Din's beskar. He spun and shot the droid down, but was then pinned to the wall by the other. After struggling to maneuver out of its grasp, he grabbed hold of one of its central units and tossed it into the head of another, sparks flying from its body as it crashed against the wall.

Mayfeld held us back while Din fell to the ground. He shot out his grapple, wrapping it around the droid's neck and swiftly pulling its head off in a small tug. The head crashed and rolled to my feet, staring up at me. I was thankful that all he was fighting was droids because if it were a person, I think I may have thrown up.

Two more security droids entered, aiming their guns at Din's head. One fired a shot, but again, it only bounced off. These droids clearly didn't understand the concept of beskar. 

Din quickly recovered and ignited the flamethrower in his vambrace, burning one of them to a crisp. Using their gun, he brought the other to its knees and fired a shot through its head, creating a wide circle in the middle. 

He tossed the gun to the side and looked over at us, surrounded by the lifeless droid bodies that he had single handedly taken down. The others scoffed while I stood, completely in awe and amazement by his defeats. 

I knew Din was a good fighter, I had seen him take down his fair share of droids and aliens, but _this_? This was something else. I felt my chest fill with warmth and my stomach flutter, watching him with a concentrated stare. 

"Make sure you clean up your mess." Mayfeld spat and pushed past him with the others.

I took my time walking towards him, taking note of the way his helmet followed me the entire way until I stood in front of him. His head tilted in silent questioning while my hand rested delicately on his shoulder, trailing down his arm with a ghostly touch.

I could feel him tense and shiver, the rise and fall of his chest increasing as my hand reached his. 

"Huh." I huffed quietly and pulled my hand away, eyeing him up and down briefly before walking past him. I could feel his eyes follow me as I disappeared down the hall after the others.

"It seems your presence has been detected. Redirecting security alert away from your position." Zero spoke up after we had all left the desolate scene.

"Z, open the door!" Mayfeld demanded. 

"But I'm detecting an organic signature."

"Yeah, okay. Alright. Just open the door!" Mayfeld tried to rush him.

"Wait a second." I stopped, my eyebrows furrowing together. "What did he just say is behind that door?"

"Don't worry about it, Sweetheart." He snapped as we all ran into the room.

Just as I expected.

A man sat in the security room, eyes wide and hands shaky. He stood with a blaster drawn, his nerves clearly getting to him. 

"Stop! J-Just stop right there." He stuttered. "You put down the blasters right now." I could hear his breathing become heavy as he ordered us around. 

I lowered my staff, shrinking it back into its hilt and placing it in my holster. I tried to make it obvious that we had no intention of harming him. At least, that's what we were told.

The others chuckled and circled around him like a group of predators. 

"Nice shoes." Mayfeld laughed. 

"Put down your blasters." He repeated. 

Mayfeld continued. "Matches his belt."

"There were only supposed to be droids on this ship." Din turned to the others, vocalizing my concerns. 

"Hang on, hang on." Mayfeld snickered. "Let's see here. Uh... Cell two-two-one. Alright, now for our well-dressed friend."

The guard whipped a distress signal from his belt, holding his thumb over the button. I inhaled a sharp breath and moved closer to Din who continued to hold up his gun. 

"Whoa" Mayfeld repeated. "Hey, hey. Easy. Easy, egghead... Put that down. Come on."

"Mayfeld." I spoke with a warning tone. 

"Put it down now!" Mayfeld ordered, pulling his blaster from his holster and pointing it at the innocent guard. 

"Easy. Nobody has to get hurt here." Din snapped. "Just calm down."

"What is that thing?" Burg wondered out loud. 

"It's a tracking beacon." 

"He presses that thing, we're all done." Mayfeld explained. "A New Republic attack team will hone in on that signal and blow us all to hell. Put it down!"

"Are you serious?" Xi'an hissed. 

"Yes, I'm serious."

"You didn't think we needed to know that _tiny little detail_?"

"I didn't think we'd get to this point."

I scoffed. "What? You thought we would just kill him without a second thought? Or did you think we would all just fail?"

"Are you questioning my managerial style, Sweetheart?" Mayfeld growled and stomped over to me.

"Damn right I am. You've led us straight to a death trap!" I spat in his face. 

"Hey." Din spoke to the guard. "Listen to me. Listen to me, okay? Look." His voice was calm and he peacefully placed his blaster back in its holster. "Hey, put it down." He spoke to Mayfeld.

"Are you crazy?"

"Put it down." He spoke again, his voice more affirmative. "What's your name?" He turned back to the guard, his hand held out in a sign of peace.

"It-It's Davan." He stumbled on his words.

"Davan. We're not here for you. We're here for a prisoner. If you let us go about our job, you can walk away with your life."

Mayfeld scoffed. "No, he won't." He pulled his gun out again, pointing it to the guard.

Din pointed his blaster to Mayfeld, resulting in his other blaster being pointed back at Din. I grabbed my gun and pointed it to the back of Mayfeld's head, daring him to take a shot.

"You realize what you're gonna bring down on us?" Din asked. 

"You're going to be the reason we fail this." I snarled.

Mayfeld chuckled. "You think I care about that?" 

No. I didn't think he cared. But now I realized his true intentions. He didn't care what happened to Din and I. He would leave us here to die if he could.

"We're not killing anybody, you understand?" Din's voice went lower, more menacing and daring. 

"Get that blaster out of my face, Mando."

"I can't do that." 

"Get that blaster out of my face, Mando!" Mayfeld shouted, repeating himself. 

Soon, everyone had a gun pointed at each other, daring to pull the trigger. Xi'an tossed a knife into the guard's side and knocked him to the ground, not even giving us the chance to reason with him.

"Would you all just _shut up_?" She complained and walked towards the blue-clad man.

Mayfeld scoffed. "Crazy Twi. I had it under control."

"Yeah." She chuckled and pulled her knife from the man's body. "Looked like it." 

I heard a soft beeping, a warning beeping, coming from somewhere around the room. I looked to Din, who must have noticed the familiar sound as well. 

There it was.

On the ground was where the tracking beacon laid, activated and taunting us with the threat of imminent death. 

"Was that thing blinking before?" Mayfeld glanced up at all of us. "Was it?"

"Zero to Mayfeld. Zero to Mayfeld."

"What?" He scowled into the comms. 

"I've detected a New Republic distress signal homing in on your location. You have approximately twenty minutes."

Xi'an shrugged. "You only need five."

The others ran out the door and down the hall. Din and I lingered in the room a few moments longer, our heads fallen at the sight of the dead, innocent man on the floor. This was _never_ part of the agreement. 

Being a bounty hunter was one thing. Those people were guilty. Taking _innocent_ lives was something else. 

We ran down the halls, cautious of any remaining droids that may be lurking until we reached the cell. We were finally about to figure out who could possibly be so important to break into a New Republic prison ship and almost get ourselves killed for. 

"Z, open it up." Mayfeld's voice had gone shaky and anxious with the new threat of death. 

"You have fifteen minutes remaining."

"Come on, come on. Open it up!"

Within seconds, the door rose to reveal a purple Twi'lek, similar to Xi'an, but male.

"Qin." Din sighed. 

"Funny, the man who left me behind is now my savior." The Twi'lek, Qin, I guess, stood and stalked towards us. "Mando."

I inched closer to Din, feeling my heart drop to my stomach. Something wasn't right here.

As I suspected, Burg pushed Din into the cell, tossing me in not long after. The door shut before we could even stand, locking us in the cell. At first, I thought it must have been a joke, but then I heard Xi'an.

"You deserve this!" 

Shit. 


	27. Chapter 27

# 26

* * *

I groaned as I clambered to my knees, scooting to lean against the wall. We were stuck, trapped, left alone in a strange cell to rot. I should have expected it.

I wanted to scream. My fingers tangled in my hair, pulling on the strands out of pure frustration. My scalp ached, as did my wounded arm that was only starting to heal. 

Din was quiet. For the first time ever, we sat in a suffocating, uncomfortable silence. I wanted to reach forward and slap him for getting us in the mess in the first place, but the stupid shiny helmet blocked me from doing so.

Then I remembered.

The child.

They were going to take him away and do who knows what. He was gone and I _failed_. 

I struggled to keep back a whimper, but it escaped my mouth, followed by a shallow sob. Before I knew it, tears welled up in my eyes, slowly dripping down my face. They left a hot trail in their path, reminding me of all I had lost within a matter of minutes. 

There was a subtle shift next to me, but enough for me to notice. I lifted my head to find Din settling himself next to me, his heavy arm wrapped around my shoulders. 

He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to either. I knew he felt the same way, he loved the kid and ship more than anyone else. He just happened to have a helmet to shield himself.

His hand lifted to my face, wiping the tears from my cheeks while they soaked into the tan leather of his gloves. It was so hard to read him with the clunky helmet, but in that moment, I knew that he cared. It ached me to finally admit that to myself. Especially when I came to terms with the fact that I cared about him too.

I sprung forward and wrapped my arms tight around his neck, sinking into his body. His arms held me so close, I could hear his soft, calming breathing through the modulator.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered it so softly that I wasn't sure he actually said it. I thought I may have been imagining the words, but then he said it again.

"I'm so sorry, Myrah."

"Din..." I sniffled and pulled back. Not too far, but enough to look at him. "You didn't mean to."

"This is all strange... I didn't know- I _don't_ know how this works."

"How-" I stopped myself, trying to decipher his words. "How what works?"

"This... Partner thing." He mumbled and pulled his hands away from me.

I'm not sure why, but I almost felt disappointed with his words. What had I wanted to say? A relationship? That was ridiculous. 

We trusted each other and that was it. Just a couple of... pals. 

"Right... We learn along the way, I guess. I've never really had a partner either, not since I was a child."

"We learn..." He repeated, watching as I let go of him and pulled myself to my feet.

"I know it's not usually your style, but," I reached out my hand, "what do you say about getting some revenge on those assholes?"

He chuckled and took my hand, rising to his feet. "I like the way you're thinking." He paused and brushed his thumb over my knuckles, pulling me back into him. "But before we go, what was that look about earlier?"

"What? The droid thing?" I giggled. He nodded, slowly letting my hand fall back to my side. "It was... hot." 

"It was- wait, what?"

"I think we should get going, don't you?" 

I grabbed my blaster and fired a shot to a passing security droid's shoulder to grab its attention. It stomped over and raised it's gun through the small slits of the door, firing a couple shots. I held onto his arm and pulled down, snapping it from its body.

I used it's arm to open the door, revealing the standing droid. Without a second thought, I raised my blaster and fired a shot to the front of its head, watching as it hit the ground with a thunk.

Din's towering presence crept behind me and I could feel the cool beskar against the side of my head as he whispered. " _That_ was hot."

He brushed past me and ran towards the control room. I still felt chills coursing through my body, but regained enough senses to chase after him.

We worked to start closing down the doors, watching the cameras to find the group of traitors. After turning on the emergency lights, we cut Zero off from any access to the ship and separated the others.

This was going to be fun. Our own little game of cat and mouse.

"You can have Burg... _I_ am taking Xi'an." I hissed, grabbing my blaster. 

"Are you sure-"

"Yes." I answered firmly. I grabbed the tracking beacon off the ground and pushed it into his hand. "Stay safe."

He sighed and placed the beacon in his belt. "I should be saying the same to you."

I smiled fondly, remembering the same words we once exchanged on Sorgan. With a quick nod, I ran out of the control room and through the halls, keeping my footsteps quiet against the tiled floor. 

Xi'an stood at the end of the red lit hallway, talking into her comms. She took slow, steady steps down the hall, not noticing my nearing appearance. 

"Xi'an." I snapped, holding my blaster tight in my palm. "Hasn't anyone ever told you to never bring a knife to a gunfight?"

She snarled at me and began throwing her small blades towards me. I easily dodged each toss, thanking my training as a child for being able to sense these kinds of attacks. 

I was within a few feet of her when I raised my gun to fire, but in a swift kick, it left my hand and hit the floor.

She landed a firm punch against my jaw and another to my side, but nothing seemed as painful as when my fist slammed against her nose. She gasped and stumbled back slightly before running at me and tackling me to the ground.

I squirmed and tried to shove her off of me while she continued to try pummeling my head. 

"Pathetic." She growled and managed to strike her fist against my head. I felt a splitting pain and a subtle dripping from my eyebrow.

Finally, I managed to kick her off of me. The anger took over my body and mind, searing hot. I nearly felt blinded by it. I held out my hand, forcing her against the wall. Her hands grasped at the invisible pressure on her throat, trying to pull it away.

"You-You're some kind of _witch_." She wheezed.

I chuckled lowly and released my grasp, watching as she fell to the ground and slumped against the wall. 

"Perhaps." I whispered and grabbed her head, slamming it back against the wall to knock her out.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't kill her. Din and I already had a plan and that wasn't it. No matter how cruel she was, I couldn't do it.

I dragged her back to the cell where an equally unconscious Burg laid, tossing her in as well. When I turned around, I found Din with Mayfeld trailing behind as he pulled him along. All three were knocked out cold, likely not to wake up for a few hours.

"Looks like you had fun." I snorted and stepped aside for him to toss the final one in. Of course there was Qin, but we had a different plan for him.

"Did you?" He quipped.

I shrugged and pressed a few buttons to shut and lock the door on the three. "I'm just ready to get back to the ship."

Din stopped me and raised his thumb to my eyebrow, wiping the bit of blood that dripped down my skin. I winced and wrapped my fingers around his wrist to pull his hand away. I guess Xi'an was able to get in a few good hits. 

"I'm fine. I'm tired of worrying about these little scratches. Let's go." 

We ran down the dimly lit halls until we found the purple Twi'lek climbing up the entrance to the Razor Crest, seeming to make a fairly easy escape.

"Qin." Din shouted, stopping the other man dead in his tracks. 

His head hung low, a saddened sigh escaping him. "You killed the others."

"They got what they deserved" He answered vaguely. 

He snarled and raised his blaster, only to be met by the two of us holding ours out towards him as well. 

"You kill me, you don't get your money." He shrugged. "Whatever Ran promised, I'll make sure you get it, and _more_. Come on, Mando. Be reasonable." He scoffed and dropped his weapon on the ground. 

"You were hired to do a job, right?" He continued on, stepping towards us with his arms held out. "So do it. Isn't that your code? Aren't you a man of honor?" He laughed as I placed the cuffs firmly on his wrist. 

Din brought him up to the cockpit while I lingered in the belly of the ship. I saw Zero wandering with his blaster raised, standing over the cot and what I only could assume was the child. 

I felt a sense of protectiveness fill me as I raised my blaster and shot the droid through the head. I can say confidently that this one deserved it. 

The child looked up at me with its big brown eyes, making me smile just by looking at it. It reached up, begging for me to hold him, which I happily obliged. There was a jolt of the ship as it separated from the prison and jumped into hyperspace, but I held onto the child as tight as I could.

"You're safe now." I hummed and placed a soft kiss on his head. "I'm going to make sure of it." 

Din landed the ship safely inside of Ran's hideout and had me help in bringing Qin out to the desk. He laughed and shared a hug with Ran while we slowly sauntered down the ramp to meet with them.

"Where are the others?" Ran chuckled. 

"No questions asked." Din spoke. "That's the policy, right?"

"Yeah. That is the policy."

"I did the job." Din edged on, trying to not directly ask for the money, but not wanting to continue any sort of conversation.

"Yeah, you did." Ran nodded and tossed him a large pouch of credits. 

I snatched the bag mid-air from Din, grinning smugly as I glanced at our earnings. It was soft, but I could hear the sigh that came from his helm.

"Just like the good old days." 

"Yeah, just like the good old days." Ran agreed. 

We turned and left back up the ramp, closing it behind us without another glance. We lifted off as fast as we could, leaving the workshop behind.

"You placed the tracking beacon on him, right?"

Din chuckled and pointed at the Republic fighters that just left hyperspace. I nodded in approval and sat back as we shot off through space, finally able to relax. 

He turned around and looked between the child and I, handing the little green being a small ball off his controls.

"I told you guys that was a bad idea."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Like hell you did."

He looked over at me, his posture stiff and tense in a way I couldn't read. 

"What happened earlier-"

I groaned. "Oh, Kriff."


	28. Chapter 28

# 27

* * *

Soaring through space was quite possibly the most beautiful thing to me. I'm sure I've said it a million times, but the way that everything seemed to zoom right past was exhilarating. I could sit and stare at the sky for hours. It's like I can forget everything, every problem in the galaxy.

It was just me and the stars.

Din had been quiet since we jumped into hyperspace. Well, almost completely quiet. The tension in the cockpit was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Luckily, we had plenty of those. 

We were enjoying our time together and that was all. Nothing more had to be said, nothing else had to be done. What's the harm in just being partners with the occasional flirty tease or joke thrown in?

"Myrah?"

Din's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts. His elbows rested on his knees as he leaned towards me with his head cocked to the side. The sight alone sent a light flush to my face. 

"Any ideas on where to go?"

"I- uh-" I stumbled on my words, struggling to fit them in a sentence. 

"You mentioned Coruscant once." He hummed and spun back around to face the controls.

"Oh! Yeah, I have a friend out there, I suppose. It's also a Core world. We shouldn't have to worry about any Imperials finding us there." 

He typed in the navigation and set the ship on track for Coruscant. My heart swelled, my thoughts racing inside my head. 

I would _finally_ see my family again.

They're not my _actual_ family, not by blood at least. My friend, Ana, and her family took me in when I was young. They trained me in the Force and taught me everything I know. They made me feel loved and at home.

Ana was also strong in the Force once, considering both of her parents were very powerful as well. Her father was even a Jedi Master. Her mom, well, that was a whole other story. So, they took me in as well. They became my family.

"What are you thinking about?" Din glanced over his shoulder at me. I must have clearly been lost in thought.

"How lucky I am to have you." I joked. He seemed to freeze up for a moment before I laughed and shoved his shoulder. "I'm just thinking. Don't worry about it."

But I was lucky. No- I _am_ lucky. 

Now I just had to get him adjusted to Coruscant culture. That would be interesting.

* * *

We landed in a large shipyard, likely the only one that the planet had. Most people rode around on their speeders and bikes, never a large ship. People hardly left the planet unless it was for politics or business. Those issues grew even more rare as we adjusted to the New Republic. 

After wrapping the child in a bundle and gathering everything we deemed absolutely necessary, we left the ship. We had luckily arrived at the perfect time of day. Everyone was at work, but there were several speeders for rent everywhere

Din cautiously glanced around the new, bustling planet. "So where are we supposed to-"

"Follow me." I grabbed his hand and held the child in my other arm and ran towards the nearest speeder rental I could find. I couldn't contain my excitement. 

The speeders were relatively cheap considering all of the credits we've earned. Much to Din's dismay, I was the one in the driver's seat. Although I was sure that I had proven myself a skilled pilot.

All of the buildings here were tall and bright, even during the day. As much as I loved the nature of Sorgan and the sandy hills on Tatooine, nothing was quite as incredible as the skyscrapers of Coruscant. 

"Are they going to be upset about us stopping by without a warning?" Din vocalized his concerns, gripping the edge of the speeder for dear life as I flew with the traffic.

"Oh, no. Ana will just be glad to know I'm alive." 

The child squealed as I sped around. I thought Din was going to be sick. I am a great pilot for large ships, not so much small speeders, but it's relatively the same concept. I doubt Din could do any better. 

"How long has it been since you saw her last?"

I shrugged. "Nine years?"

He shook his head and hopped out as fast as he could once I landed in front of a towering apartment building. I followed him, holding the bundled baby in my arms. 

I could feel my hands start to shake when I reached for the door phone. I didn't expect to be this nervous. I didn't expect to be nervous at all. Then again, I hadn't spoken to her in _nine years_. She had to remember me, right?

But what if she didn't?

I handed the child off to Din and pressed the button next to her name, emitting a loud beep before a soft, sweet, happy voice spoke through the static speaker. 

"Hello?"

"Hi..." I dragged out the word, trying to figure out what I would say. What do you say to someone who probably thinks you're dead. "Is-Is this Ana?"

"Yes." She giggled. Always a beacon of sunshine. "May I ask who this is?"

"Right. This is uh- Myrah." I paused, hearing nothing but silence from the other side of the speaker. "Myrah Koor."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." I replied nervously. I could hear Din snicker behind me at my anxiousness. He had never seen me like this. Or, at least no time that I can remember.

"Oh my Maker! Myrah! Come up. Come up!" She laughed and buzzed us in. Perhaps I should have told her that I wasn't alone. 

My anxiety increased when we neared the door. It felt like each step I took felt forced, but something pulled me to the door. I had no choice but to walk to it. 

"What if we turned around?" I whispered back to Din. "We could leave right now, leave no trace behind. Maybe find a far away planet? We could go-" 

The door swung open, revealing the kind-looking woman I used to view as a sister. Her dark brown eyes sparkled and her auburn hair was as wavy and beautiful as ever. Seeing her made all of the nerves disappear in an instant.

We ran to each other, embracing one another in a tight, long awaited hug. 

"I can't believe it's really you!" She exclaimed as she pulled away. "You're alive!"

"That I am." I laughed. "How are things?"

She raised a brow and looked over at Din who carried the little bundle in his arms. A smug grin grew on her face as she shifted her attention back to me. 

"I think I should be asking _you_ that. Who is _this_?" 

It was a dead giveaway from the way my cheeks flushed red. I blamed it on the excitement but I hoped she wouldn't notice. "Oh, this is uh- this is Mando." Now that felt weird to say. "My...partner. You know, bounty partner."

"Bounty?" Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

Right.

She didn't know that either. 

"Oh, we can take all the time in the galaxy to catch up. Come inside!" She opened the door wider for us to enter her spacious apartment.

We shuffled inside and gawked at the luxurious space. The windows were tall and pristine, displaying the gorgeous city in all of its glory. The soft, peach walls were high and the white floors practically sparkled. 

Ana giggled bashfully at our astonishment of her home. "My husband and I live here..."

"Your _husband_?" I gaped. She was a year younger than me and I almost felt bad about myself with how much she had achieved. 

"And my daughter-"

"You have a daughter?" I nearly shouted, my eyes growing wide. I feared they would pop out of my head. 

She hummed and led us to a comfortable couch where we all sat. "Her name is Shira. She's actually been training with _Luke Skywalker_. Oh, Myrah, don't you remember when-"

I pinched her knee, stopping her from saying anything more and earning a little yelp of pain from her.

" _Anyway_... I don't see why you're so shocked when you seem to have a little baby of your own." She smiled at the bundle that Din held tightly in his arms. 

"Well, here's the thing." I grabbed the baby from him, offering him a small smile before I turned back towards Ana. "It's not really mine." 

I set the child down on the ground and pulled the blanket away, revealing its small green body. Ana gasped and watched the child start to wander around aimlessly.

"It looks like-"

"I know."

"Huh..." She peered up at us again, looking over at Din who had remained silent this entire time. "So, Mando, right?" He hummed. That was his version of a response. "How long have you and Myrah been... working together?"

He looked over at me, almost as though he was wanting my approval before speaking. "A few months."

"And you met...bounty hunting? Myrah, since when were you a bounty hunter?"

"Pretty much right after I left. I had to find a way to hide and... hunting was the only way to make any money." I shrugged and leaned back on the couch, allowing the comfy cushions to pull me in. 

Ana's smile sunk into one full of sadness, I could feel her heart aching at my words. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Why don't you guys stay for a bit? We have a spare room, if you guys don't mind sharing. I know you've never liked running around much, Myrah... Maybe tomorrow, you can show Mando around. Give him a tour of the city."

Before I could answer, Din spoke up for me. "That would be great."

"Great!" Ana hopped up from her seat with a new pep in her step. 

Din picked up the child and placed a hand on the small of my back as Ana led us to the spare room. The walls were white and pristine with the wonderful black-framed windows that matched those of the living room. A tall glass door led to a balcony that overlooked the urban district. Leave it to Ana to be extra and clean as hell.

"I hope this is fine."

"This is probably going to be the comfiest bed I've slept on in my entire life..." I ran over and gave her another tight hug. "Thank you."

"Anything for you." She mumbled and pulled away. "Don't do anything my mother wouldn't do." 

"She's jumped out of moving speeders, Ana! There were no limits to what she would do." 

She paused for a second, slowly closing the door before she winked. "I know."

With that, she closed the door and left the three of us alone. There was a large bed pressed against the wall with soft, light blue covers that I couldn't wait to wrap myself in and fall into a deep sleep.

"She's very kind." Din spoke, setting down the child.

"She is..." I gasped, a small realization hitting me when I watched the baby waddle around. "Oh, I'll go ask her if she has a crib from when her daughter was younger. I'm sure she-"

I started walking towards the door, but was stopped by Din stepping right in the middle of my way, not letting me pass him.

"Din." I whined. "Come on, he needs somewhere to sleep."

"I-" He sighed and moved his hands to cup my face, holding it steady. "You're amazing."

"Oh... I, um... I think so too." I stuttered, my body filling with warmth from his compliment.

"Right... Well." He stepped away, seeming to be at a loss for words. "That's all. You can- You can go get that crib."

I nodded, trying to ignore the burning feeling left on my skin as I left the room. We're partners. He's just being kind. We're _just_ partners.

I didn't believe that.

We're partners.

We're partners.

_We're partners._


	29. Chapter 29

# 28

* * *

I sat up, finding myself alone in the plush bed. This situation felt oddly familiar, but somehow weirder. I didn't peg Din as someone who would voluntarily get up and socialize with people he didn't know too well, but I guess I was wrong. 

I got up and stretched before I left the room, finding everyone gathered at the large dining table. Din sat next to the child, feeding him small pieces of cooked meat. I laughed quietly at the domestic scene, alerting everyone of my presence. 

Ana rushed over and smoothed out my hair with a bright smile. "Sorry, Myrah. Mando said he didn't want to wake you and neither did I." She giggled and led me over to the table where a tall, brunette man sat with a little girl at his side. I assumed that was Shira.

She had her mother's brown eyes and her father's hair. She was absolutely adorable. The energy she radiated was impeccable as well. It was clear that like her mother, she had a great tie to the Force. 

Ana placed a small plate of fruit and eggs in front of me, hurrying to the seat next to mine. "How did you sleep?" She asked with a beaming grin.

"It was amazing. I haven't slept that good since-" I stopped and glanced up at Din, a slight blush coating my cheeks. "Well, for a while."

"I'm glad to hear it! So, do you know what you're going to do today?"

I shrugged and began shoveling the food into my mouth. The food was also some of the best I've had in a long time. Some of the travel food that Din packed had expired long ago and became nearly unbearable to eat.

"Not much. We still have to take care of the baby after all."

Ana gasped and looked over at the child who cooed with a mouth full of food, causing Shira to burst into a fit of giggles. 

"Nonsense! You guys need to go enjoy yourselves. There is so much to do in here, you shouldn't waste this time." She paused, her eyes lighting up. "Didn't you agree to give him a tour of the city?"

"Ana, no. There's way too much to do and we just got here." 

"Come on! You love this city so much. We'll even watch the baby!" She looked over at her husband for approval. He gave a big smile and nodded as well. I see how they found each other. 

"I don't know... We don't really like to go out much. Besides, with Mando being- well- a Mandalorian, we may catch some unwanted attention."

"I think it's a great idea."

We all turned towards the muffled voice that spoke up, hiding behind the shiny beskar helmet.

"What? You love the city and I don't mind going with you."

"Then it's settled!" Ana stood and clasped her hands together. "I can even help you with a change of clothes!" She squealed and ran out of the room, stopping to press a quick peck to her husband's cheek.

I looked up at Din while he cocked his head to the side. He had something planned and I wasn't sure I liked where this was going. 

* * *

I stood in front of the long mirror in a pair of tight gray pants and a wine-colored tunic that was cinched at the waist with a tight, black belt. The neckline dipped in a slight v-shape but nothing too scandalous and the sleeves fell from my shoulders. Apparently that was how it was supposed to be. 

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but it reminded me of what we would wear as children when we trained. 

Ana worked on braiding two strands on the sides of my head, setting them free to intertwine and dangle with my natural waves. 

"Aw, Myrah. You look beautiful." She smiled and fluffed my hair.

"You did this on purpose." 

"Maybe. I couldn't help myself!" She sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. "You know, it's one of my mom's old outfits. You're probably always covered head to toe in black, I had to switch it up just a little."

I knew she had good intentions, she always does. Maybe it wasn't too big of a deal. It was just an outfit. It was nice to pretend like everything was normal. Like nothing had ever changed.

"Oh! Would you look at the time?" She glanced out the window at the barely setting sun. "Time for you to get going!" 

She pulled me with her as we ran out the door, finding Din standing in the corridor, his relaxed form leaning against the wall. 

"Alright, you two. Have fun! Don't worry about a thing, we have everything under control here." She delivered a quick kiss to my cheek before taking off. I never knew how she had so much energy all the time. Neither one of her parents ever acted the way she did. 

"Ready to go?" I smiled shyly at Din, offering my hand to him as I shifted closer to the door. 

His gaze followed me ever since I stepped in front of him. I almost felt a little insecure. He nodded and instead of taking my hand, hooked his arm beneath mine and led me out the door. 

We didn't say much as we walked, except for when I pointed out a few of the spots where Ana and I got into trouble as teens. We didn't live together in Coruscant very long, but we knew how to make some serious messes. 

"You really love this place." He mumbled. He almost sounded sad.

"I do." I spoke with a laugh. "We only lived here for a few weeks and while it was nearly hell, we had each other."

"You fit in well."

"Do I? I always thought I stuck out around here. It's not what it used to be. The stories Ana's parents told us painted it as something magical."

"Who were they by the way?" He questioned with a gentle tilt of his head.

I snickered. "Oh, I can't say their names out here. But they were more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

The sun set quickly as we walked around a bit longer, leaving us with the sparkling night sky of Coruscant. I couldn't tell what was a speeder and what was a star at this point. 

"I bet we could sneak back into the apartment. We can always see more tomorrow when Ana won't try to play dress up with me."

"I think you look..." He paused. "Nice."

I let out a laugh at his nervous compliment. He never seemed to struggle with those before. Coruscant was bringing out a new side of Din that I never expected to see. 

It certainly wasn't the longest night out, but that didn't matter. The walk back was comfortable and as the cool breeze picked up, Din had pulled me even closer to his body. We were lucky to sneak back inside without Ana noticing and quickly made our way to the guest room.

If she had found out that we had returned so quickly, I was sure she would have thrown a fit. Or she would have just been really sad. Either one. 

I flopped backwards on the bed in the dark room, choosing to keep the lights off to avoid alerting Ana of our presence. Din chuckled and watched, having the lucky night vision feature of his helmet to actually see anything around us. 

"I forgot how much I missed Ana. I know she can be a pain in the ass, but she's all I have left of a family." I whispered with a sigh and slipped off my shoes. 

I felt the bed dip next to me as Din sat down. "All you have left?"

I nodded and sat up, finding the shadow of his helmet in the dark. "My parents left me when I was a little older than Shira. Her family found me, took me in, trained me and loved me like I was their own. I'll never be able to tell them how much they meant to me." 

A silence settled around us as I searched for his hand, grasping it tightly once I found it.

"What about you?" 

I knew the question was stupid as soon as it rolled out of my mouth, but it was too late.

"My family?" 

I hummed, waiting for him to tell me that it was none of my business and that I was being incredibly intrusive. But that didn't happen.

"They were killed when I was young. I vaguely remember their faces and sometimes I fear that I'm starting to forget." His grip on my hand tightened. "The Mandalorians saved me, they gave me a safe place, a home. I owe them everything." 

"Din..." I whispered and raised his hand to my lips, placing a gentle kiss on the leather. "Thank you for telling me."

He fidgeted around for a moment before I felt his body face towards me. "Myrah?" He asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Do you trust me?"

I felt like that was sort of a silly question. Of course I trusted him. Who else would I tell about my life and pour all of my secrets too? Those aren't the sort of things you tell just _anyone_.

"With my life."

I could feel him stand from the bed and walk towards the other side of the room, searching for something before coming back to stand over me. It was a few awkward seconds before I felt something pull over my eyes, shielding me from even the subtle shadows in the dark room. It was soft, almost silky. It took me a few moments before I realized that he had blindfolded me.

But for what?

"What's this for?" I giggled quietly, trying to keep my voice low. "I could hardly see anything as is."

"I know..." He paused. There was a familiar hiss and the clink of metal resting on the wooden end tables. My heart suddenly felt like it could beat from my chest. He heard it thumping against my ribs, I was sure. I know that I could. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Sure of-"

"I don't trust often." He interrupted. I heard another piece of metal softly land on the floor, followed by another. His voice was addictive and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. 

"Or at all." He continued, his hands grasping mine and pulling me close to the edge of the bed where he stood. 

"But you-" He chuckled. "You came in my life swinging- literally." He dropped his gloves to the ground and brought his hand to my face. They were soft, just like I remembered. I took a deep breath, the smell of pine and leather filling my senses just as it had on Sorgan.

"And you're strong and brave and compassionate... You're a true mystery, Princess, and you've got me hooked."

I could hardly breathe. It felt like I was dreaming, I couldn't comprehend what was happening. I had to pinch my leg to convince myself I hadn't just passed out. 

"And I trust you more than I ever thought possible." His thumb grazed over my lips as he spoke, igniting a spark in my stomach that warmed my body. 

"Din?" I'm surprised I managed to get the word out with my trembling. 

"What is it?" He asked quietly. I didn't even know his voice could be so quiet.

"Would you shut up and just kiss me?"

It felt like it hit me like a truck. Not Din, no, he was actually so slow that it was almost teasing. But all of the feelings that I had tried to bury deep inside hit me hard. 

And I loved it.

His lips slowly clashed with mine. It was so unbelievably gentle that I couldn't understand how this same man had wiped out tens of bounty hunters, stormtroopers, droids, you name it. His kiss was nothing like that.

His lips were soft, actually, albeit a bit chapped, but he hardly takes off the helmet so I couldn't blame him for that. 

After a blissful moment that I wished would last forever, he pulled away. For what, I wasn't sure. All I truly remember is that he started to say my name and then I didn't give him the chance to finish it.

I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled his face back towards mine in a fervorous kiss that gradually slowed as his body moved over mine. The sensation was like nothing I had ever felt before. It made me delirious and needy. 

His hands trailed from my waist to my hair, leaving a fiery wake in their path. When he tugged on the strands, I failed to keep back the gentle gasp that escaped my mouth. An embarrassed blush filled my face, but once I felt his lips tug into a smile against mine, I knew that he didn't mind. In fact, he _liked it_.

I gripped his shoulders as I tried desperately to pull him closer to me. My teeth dragged against his bottom lip, tugging it back ever so slightly and earning a low groan from him before he captured my lips with his once again. The blissful noise brought goosebumps to my skin.

His mouth began to journey down my jaw, but a gentle knock on the door froze us in place.

Then there was another.

Once I knew Din had hidden himself in the shadows somewhere within the room, I pulled the blindfold down to rest on my collarbone. I swung the door open, desperately hoping that I didn't look as disheveled as I felt. 

"Hey, Ana, what's up?" I tried to sound nonchalant and leaned against the doorway.

Her eyes shifted over me, a smirk pulling up the corners of her mouth. "Oh... I was just checking. Didn't know you two came back and we thought we heard something."

"Oh, that was uh- um-"

"You'll try to keep it down?" 

Of course she knew. 

I nodded and quickly shut the door, letting out a sigh of relief. A pair of hands rested on my shoulders, raising the blindfold back over my eyes dauntingly. 

I felt his lips near my ear, leaving a soft kiss before whispering. 

"Where were we?"


	30. Chapter 30

# 29

* * *

A pair of arms wrapped tight around me as I stirred in my sleep. My lips tugged into a drowsy smile while the rising sun met my opening eyes. It felt like my life was a dream and if it was, I never wanted to wake up. 

"Mornin'" A raspy voice grumbled with a soft, open kiss pressed to my shoulder. 

"Din." I whined, trying not to laugh at the way his facial hair tickled against my neck. "I don't know where the blindfold is."

"Just close your eyes then." He answered simply, trailing a series of short, sweet kisses up my shoulder. I hummed at the gentle touch, my eyes falling shut while I relaxed in his embrace.

No, never wake me up from this. 

His hand was warm as it rested against my stomach. The heat from his palm bled through my shirt and onto my skin. Despite his cold, brooding exterior, he was comforting and rather toasty. It was like my own heater.

"What's going through that head of yours?" He pulled me closer while tracing small shapes against my skin. 

"You. This. It's nothing I ever expected. I mean, this is just so, so-"

"Normal?"

"Exactly." I sighed and pulled one of his hands away from my body, raising it to my lips to press a gentle kiss. I couldn't hold back the grin that twitched on my lips when I heard him gasp behind me. 

I rolled over, keeping my eyes shut and ignoring my inner pleas to just see what he looked like. His hand trailed slowly and delicately to my jaw, pulling me towards him in a gentle kiss. It felt natural, like we had done it so many times before. 

"You like normal?" He asked with a subtle mix of despair in his voice. 

"It is better than being on the run." I shrugged off his tone with a soft laugh, pressing my lips against his again with a soft kiss. 

His grip tightened on my waist as he pulled me back for another. I smiled and pressed my hands against his chest, feeling the soft fabric beneath my fingertips before pushing away and pulling myself to the edge of the bed to finally sit up.

Din reached for me again, his touch was gentle as it danced from my back to my hips. I hummed at the warm feeling that flowed through my body and raised my arms above my head to stretch. "I should probably go talk to Ana. I don't want her to get any ideas."

"Let her." He spoke again with his raspy voice as he shifted on the bed, peppering the back of my neck with soft pecks. 

I laughed again and shook my head, pulling myself to my feet. The curtains were drawn shut but the morning light still managed to peek through the windows. This was perfect. I could see myself staying in Coruscant the rest of my life. 

I made my way out to the balcony, taking a large breath of the city air. It wasn't as clean or natural as Sorgan, but it was home. Ana's parents always said that the force flowed through this city like no other. I felt like I belonged here. 

"I'm going to go visit with Ana." I smiled and peeked my head back into the room with my eyes shut. "It'll give you time to change back into your armor."

I heard a soft sigh near me, followed by a pair of hands cupping my face. "I have it on. You can open your eyes."

I obeyed, my eyes fluttering open to meet the familiar helmet that I had grown so fond of.

"I'm going to miss that thing being off." I said with a wink.

"Trust me, I will too." 

My lips met the cold, metal helmet with a short kiss. "You need to get ready." I gave his shoulders a quick squeeze before sneaking out of the room. I already missed laying in bed, tangled up in his arms. 

There was still a lingering voice that told me to run. Run away from him, the child, this constant hiding. But would it be worth it?

"Good morning." I smiled timidly. I was not prepared for the onslaught of questions that Ana would most certainly ask. 

"Well, good morning, sleepy head." She watched as I placed myself next to her on the plush, purple couch. "So..." She trailed off. "How was last night?"

A warm blush rose to my cheeks, coating my face in a soft pink hue. "It wasn't like that, Ana. We just kissed."

"Boring." She scoffed and took a long sip of her tea. 

I rolled my eyes and relaxed in the cushions. The memory was forever on replay in my mind. Unfortunately, a memory was all I'd have for a while.

"You know, you deserve something like this." 

My eyebrows furrowed together at the vague statement. "Like what?"

"Something normal. I know we are both far from it, but it's something you deserve. The war is over, Coruscant is protected by the New Republic, you could live free here. You never liked running away, Myrah. What happened here was... _horrible_. Trust me, I know. But that's over now. You can finally live the life you dreamed of."

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know what to say. She was right. It was a dream of mine to live out a normal life and I could do that here. I wouldn't be scraping by, hardly surviving. For the first time in a long time, I could _live_.

"Mando, you're up!" Ana grinned and nudged my leg with her foot, bringing me out of my daydream

He nodded and shuffled over to the couch, wearing his armor and gloves. He was ready faster than I expected. His fingers brushed against my leg as he sat down, making my heart thump in my chest. 

"You got out here pretty fast" I mumbled to him, grazing my fingers over his gloved hand.

He hummed and turned his hand over to grasp mine. "I wanted to see you again."

"It's been two minutes." I snickered and threaded my fingers with his. "Who would've thought I'd have a Mandalorian wrapped so tightly around my little finger." I teased with a small smirk. 

Ana cleared her throat loudly, reminding us both of her presence. "Someone from the shipyard came by earlier. They said something about you receiving a message of some sort."

"A message? No one has contact with your ship except-" My eyes widened as the realization hit. "Holy shit, we have to go."

"What?" Ana's face sunk. "Why so sudden?"

"I can explain it to you some day, but trust me when I say this is much more important." I pulled her in for a quick hug, one which she happily obliged to. "I'm not going to leave for another nine years, I promise that I'll come back."

"I'm going to hold you to that." She smiled, it was sad and disappointed, but it was there. "You better get going then."

I spun around to face Din, who had apparently already fetched the child and our belongings. He gave me a quick nod and with that, we left. A part of me would always stay here on Coruscant, even if the trip was short. 

That part of me would always pull me back here. 

The ship was surprisingly a welcomed sight, a place I had started to think of as a home. With Din and the child, I realized that I wasn't leaving _all_ of my family behind here. 

"My friend," a small hologram of Greef Karga popped up as Din opened the message, "if you are receiving this transmission, that means you are alive."

My breath got caught in my throat when I saw him. I knew that he was the only person capable of contacting us, but the sight still caught me off guard.

I thought I killed him.

"You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too. I guess we can call it even. A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here and his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have grown."

My mind was racing. He couldn't possibly be asking us to come back, right? This was a trap. He would kill us like any other bounty and get his money. He didn't truly care about anything other than himself, he made that clear when he was willing to kill _me_.

"If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while. You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prize. So, here is my proposition."

Din and I shared a quick look before directing our attention back to the small hologram on the panel.

"Return to Nevarro. Bring the child as bait. I will arrange an exchange and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once we get near the client, you kill him, and we all get what we want. If you succeed, you two keep the child and I will have your names cleared with the Guild, for two honored members should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism."

I scoffed. "He's crazy. He really thinks we will just go there so willingly? He wants us _dead_ and we know it."

"Myrah..." He whispered, but I ignored it. 

"I can't believe he thinks we are so gullible! To believe his lies and-"

"Myrah." His hands grasped mine and pulled me towards him, sending a spark through my body. "They're going to keep sending hunters."

"You can't possibly be thinking what I think you're thinking." 

His quiet sigh was calming, but the idea was still absurd. His head leaned against mine and his hands cupped my face with such gentleness that I felt like I was made of porcelain. "We'll get back up."

"Just what do you have in mind?"

* * *

I should have known as soon as he said 'back up' that there was only one person he would trust with this task. I heard some cheers coming from within the familiar hangout that we had visited only a few months back. Once we walked inside, I completely understood why.

Cara stood with an electric rope from her belt, attaching herself to a gruff man whom she easily took down. 

I expected nothing less from the rebel soldier. 

"Looking for some work?" Din interrupted the crowd that gathered around her, handing her their credits once the fight had ended. 

She chuckled, unable to keep back the small grin that grew once her eyes landed on us. "You two just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

"It sort of follows us." I answered with a smile _._

We sat at an empty table and hashed out the plan, ordering a couple of drinks for Cara and me. Din shuffled his seat closer to mine, not enough to raise any suspicion, but close enough to where I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"It seems like a straight forward operation. They're providing the plan and firepower. I'm the snare." Din explained.

"With the kid?" 

"That's why I'm coming to you."

Cara turned to me with her eyebrows raised. "And you agreed to this?"

I sighed. "Not exactly."

"I don't know. I've been advised to lay low." She spoke in a slightly mocking tone. "If anybody runs my chain code, I'll rot in a cell for the rest of my life."

"I thought you were a veteran." Din spoke as another person came by, placing a couple of credits next to Cara. 

"Come back soon." She spoke sweetly to the stranger before refocusing her attention on us. "I've been a lot of things since. Most of them carry a life sentence."

I scoffed. "Tell me about it."

I could practically _feel_ Din rolling his eyes at my comment. His hand moved to grip mine. It was both comforting and a warning, but I smiled at the public display. 

Cara continued. "If I so much as book passage on a ship registered to the New Republic, I'm-"

"I have a ship." Din interrupted. "I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward. You can live free of worry."

"I'm already free of worry and I'm not in the mood to play soldier anymore." She answered, knowing it wasn't what we wanted to hear. "Especially fighting some local warlord."

I felt a lightbulb go off in my head at her words, my gaze quickly snapping to meet hers. "He's Imperial."

Cara froze, her expression going blank before a grin pulled at the ends of her mouth. 

"I'm in." She raised her cup to her lips, but paused and pointed down to our joined hands. "That new?"

I yanked my hand away and failed to hide the furious blush that coated my face. Cara only grinned and downed her drink. 

We were going to get so much shit for that. 


	31. Chapter 31

# 30

* * *

"So is it like an official relationship? Are you just weird friends?" She stopped and slapped my arm. I knew it was playful, but damn it stung. "Are you two fooling around?"

"Cara..." Din scolded from the pilot's seat. I think we were both genuinely surprised that _he_ was the one to speak up. I'm glad he did though, I wasn't sure what to say. We hadn't really talked about it. 

She sat back and chuckled, proud of herself for being able to get under his skin. "Does your contact need to vet me?"

Din messed with the controls, preparing the skip. "Doesn't know you're coming."

"Really?" She scoffed. "That could be a problem."

"It won't." He declared and spun around. "But if it is, that's his problem."

He brushed past us and began his descent into the belly of the ship. Cara looked to me with a shrug and we both followed after him. Despite being able to literally get into people's minds, I never truly knew what was going on in his.

"He alright up there alone-" She stopped herself and gazed in awe at his collection of weaponry.

"Yeah." He answered, almost unsure. "Pick one."

She began messing with the weapons while Din and I stood against the wall, his hand twitching to reach for mine. Every subtle movement from him kept me anticipating the next time he would take off that helmet. But maybe it was for the best that he kept it on. 

"You trust the contact?" Cara asked as she reached for a small gun.

"Not particularly. He and I had a run-in last time I was there on some Guild business." Din explained. I suppose that was the nice way of explaining what happened.

"So then why are we going?" Cara grabbed another gun, this one much larger than the others. I could already tell that one fit her more. She always was favorable of dramatics. 

"We don't have much of a choice. You remember what happened on Sorgan, they'll just keep coming." I explained. I hated the plan, but I supported what it meant. Keeping that kid safe was my main priority.

I could see Din look at me out of the corner of my eye. To avoid any suggestive looks from Cara, he simply squeezed my shoulder and continued for me. "The kid will never be safe until the Imp is dead."

"And you're okay with bringing him back there?"

"Not really." Din fidgeted in his spot, both of us watching as Cara aimed the gun. "That's why I'm bringing you."

The ship shook and rumbled, tossing us around. We managed to navigate our way back up to the cockpit to find the child sitting on the panel, messing with the steering shift.

Din grunted as he was tossed against the wall while Cara almost fell back down the ladder. I scooped the child up in my arms and pulled it away from anything that might get us killed while Din redirected the ship and put it back on it's path.

"We need someone to watch that thing." Cara spoke as she tried to catch her breath.

Din scoffed. "Yeah."

"You got anyone you can trust?"

"We do." I smiled at Din and it felt like he could read my mind.

Cara looked between us, confused and a bit lost.

"You guys are going to have to explain whatever is going on between you two because it's starting to creep me out."

* * *

We landed not too far from the Ugnaught's home, hoping the stay wouldn't be too long. No words needed to be said when we approached him. He simply welcomed us into his home without a second thought. I'm sure our expressions were dead giveaways of the situation we were in. 

We settled down on his small, but comfortable seats. I missed his quaint home. It was small, yes, but it was welcoming and warm, something we didn't see a lot of these days. Well, besides Coruscant, of course. The Razor Crest wasn't necessarily the homiest of places. 

He examined what he once knew as our bounty, squatting just enough to match its height. "It hasn't grown much."

"I think it might be a Strand-Cast." Din proposed and settled down on the seat next to mine. 

"I don't think it was engineered. I've worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved... Too ugly. This one, on the other hand," he said as he gestured towards Cara, "looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora."

"This is Cara Dune." Din nodded towards the built woman. "She was a shock trooper."

"You were a Dropper?"

Cara glanced down to her stripes and then back at the short man. "Did you serve?"

"On the other side, I'm afraid." He grunted as he sat down across from us. "But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt and now I serve no one but myself."

I had forgotten that he served the Empire. The reminder of the horrid group sent a shiver down my spine. Soon enough, we'd be seeing whole flanks of storm troopers, I was sure. Who knew if I would even make it past the entrance without a shot between my eyes. 

There was a quiet robotic hiss and a slim shadow suddenly filled the doorway. I immediately recognized the IG-11 unit and snapped my blaster in its direction with Din and Cara quickly following suit. 

"Would anyone care for some tea?" It asked calmly, unfazed by the guns directed towards it.

"Please lower your blasters." The Ugnaught pleaded. "He will not harm you.

I scoffed. "As if. It was programmed to kill the child."

"Not anymore." He said as the IG unit placed down the tray of drinks. 

He went on to tell us how he recovered the droid and new programming that he had created himself. I trusted him, truly I did, but Din still seemed on edge. I could understand his hatred for the thing, but if the Ugnaught was sure that it was safe, then I believed him. 

I only wished Din could see it that way as well. However, I understood his coldness towards them. 

"Is it still a hunter?" He asked.

"No." The Ugnaught answered confidently. "But it will protect."

Din stared at the droid as it sat there motionless. The tension in the air was incredibly thick. I felt like I was choking on the silence that weighed over us. 

"Tea?" The droid asked calmly. 

Din sighed while Cara happily took the warm beverage. Honestly, a cup of tea didn't sound too bad right now.

The Ugnaught left, off to finish his duties that we had interrupted him from earlier. He worked so hard for the free life he had, who were we to rip him from it? It was selfish to say that we needed him, but we did. 

I stood from my seat to follow him out the door. We _needed_ to get him to agree to this and no one else seemed to have a plan.

Din's hand loosely gripped my arm and pulled me back. "Where are you going?" He asked quietly

"There's only so many places I _can_ go. I'm just going to talk to him, try to convince him to come with us." I turned to face him with a reassuring smile. 

"Let me go with you." He insisted, pulling me closer to him.

Cara looked at us with raised eyebrows, peacefully sipping her tea. 

"I can handle it myself, you know. I didn't always have you around to protect me." I sent him a wink and grabbed his hand, placing a soft kiss to his palm, making Cara sputter and choke on her drink. "I'll be back soon."

He reluctantly let me go and I quickly caught up with the Ugnaught. He stood by the fence, happily feeding his blurrgs while the sun set in the distance. I missed these beautiful skies. 

"We need your help." I spoke softly as I approached him, my voice wavering with nerves. 

"I figured as much. Why else would you return?" He sighed and stepped back from the animal, placing his hands on his hips.

"You're a very trustworthy person, Ugnaught. Din is a rather proud person, he won't go to just _anyone_ for help."

"I have a name." He snapped, but quickly calmed himself. "Kuill."

" _Kuill_ , we need someone to help guard the child. He's curious and daring-"

He hummed. "I'm not suited for such work. I can reprogram IG-11 for nursing and protocol."

"No." I paused and quickly recollected my thoughts. "Din doesn't trust the droid, you know that he'll never allow that."

"Why is he so distrustful of droids?"

"I don't think it's my place to say..." I glanced down at the sand beneath our feet, watching as it swirled with the wind. "But _that_ droid tried to kill the baby."

"It was programmed to do so." He argued. "Droids are not good or bad. They are neutral reflections of those who imprint them."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my tangled strands of hair. I knew he was right, but convincing Din would be a completely different story. 

"Please." The word came out hoarse and pained, a desperate plea for help. 

He sighed. "IG-11 will join me and we do it not for payment, but to protect the child from Imperial slavery. None will be free until the old ways are gone forever... Something tells me you know what I speak of."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "I do."

"The blurrgs will join me as well. I have spoken." He finished, passing Din as he entered the house. 

Din slowly approached me. Alone, thank goodness. I wasn't needing any more comments from Cara right now, especially after her last reaction.

"So?" He spoke calmly as he approached me. He stood tall, his shoulders stretched and his back straight. Every step he took was confident and proud, I admired that. 

"He'll join us." I smiled as my eyes trailed down to his gloved hands. My fingers brushed over the soft, worn leather before grasping his hands in my own. "But the droid is coming with... And the blurrgs too."

"The blurrgs?"

I snorted and nodded. "Yes, but I suppose they have some use." 

He intertwined my fingers with his and took a small step towards me, standing so close that the toes of our shoes touched. I enjoyed his closeness, but the closer he got, the louder the voice became. It told me to pull away but staring into the abyss of his helmet, I couldn't.

"It'll get better. We'll take out the Imps and then we can find another place." He rested his cool, beskar coated head against mine. I could hear his breathing start to slow as he relaxed. 

"No more running?"

"No more running. I promise." His hands gave mine a gentle squeeze. "Just _this_."

I tensed at his words, barely comprehending the thoughts that moved around in my head. All I could feel, all I could see was a blur. What was holding me back from sticking by his side for the rest of my life? What unfinished business did I have left?

We wanted the same thing, didn't we? For _this_. No running, just peace with the two of us and the little child. Yet my mind told me that I have been set on a separate mission. What it was, I didn't know. But I'd be damned if I let it beat me. 

"We should get back to the ship." I stepped back and offered him a small grin. 

Things were so incredibly unclear. Our relationship had changed on Coruscant and there was no taking that back. Now, I suppose, wasn't the best time to talk about it. There were more important things on my mind and we could cross that rickety bridge when we came to it. 

Still, I cared for him. More than I'd like to admit. Maybe that would be my downfall. 


	32. Chapter 32

# 31

* * *

Cara and Din sat at a small table in the belly of the ship, their hands clasped together as they struggled to knock the others arm down. My bet was on Cara, she had taken him down once, I was certain she could do it again. He seemed to lose often to the two of us.

"I got you, Mando." She chuckled.

"Care to double the bet?" He grunted as he fought against her.

The child sat next to me in its poorly constructed bassinet. My thumb rubbed the soft hairs on his huge green ears comfortingly. I enjoyed his presence and he seemed to enjoy mine. 

He reached his hand out towards the two, his eyes narrowing as he focused. I smiled, assuming that he was simply trying to help Din win.

Boy, was I wrong.

Cara gasped and dropped Din's hand on the table, grasping for her throat as she started choking. I looked over at Din, who looked equally confused, then back at the child. I guess he helped in his own deranged, murderous way.

I quickly grabbed the child and pulled its focus away from Cara, allowing her to finally take a breath.

"Cara is a friend. Okay? _Friend_." I spoke calmly.

"That is _not_ okay!" Cara snapped.

Kuiil hummed and glanced at the child in my arms. "Very curious."

"Curious?" She scoffed. "It almost killed me!"

"He doesn't know any better!" I defended.

"The story you told me of the mudhorn now makes more sense." Kuiil spoke to Din.

"What is it?" Din asked while I fidgeted in my seat.

My eyes widened as I remembered the one little secret I hid. I knew I was forgetting to tell him something. It'll have to wait for a better time, I guess. Now was certainly not the time to get into that.

"What it is, I don't know. But what it does, this- this I've heard rumors of."

Cara continued to catch her breath, recovering from the brute force on her throat. "What? When you worked for the Empire?"

"When I was _sold_ to the Empire in indentured servitude."

"Yet somehow, you walk free." Cara stood, her eyes narrowing towards Kuiil.

"I bought my freedom through the skill of my hands and the labor of three of your human lifetimes." Kuiil defended himself with honor. "Do not cast doubt upon that of what I am nor whom I shall serve."

"Tell you what." Din interrupted the heavy silence. "I could really use your craftwork right now. Can you pad this container so the child can sleep better?"

"I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one's hands."

Kuiil left to construct a new bassinet while we ascended into the cockpit. The atmosphere was still thick with tension despite moving past the argument and small Force incident. Jedi were once known all around the galaxy but within only a few years, all of that history was erased. It continued to surprise me that no one knew of the group.

"So, we're going to Nevarro?" Cara asked.

"You ever been there?" I questioned quietly, sitting in my usual seat behind Din.

"No. We lost a lot of our forces there. The city's dug in pretty deep, no cover when you drop in." She settled in the seat across from me. "It stayed in Empire control till the end of the war."

"The warlord we're taking out was an Imperial officer." Din glanced over his shoulder to join the conversation while directing the ship.

"What station?"

"Hard to tell." He shrugged. "No insignia anymore. I took out the safe house when I snatched the kid. More Imps have reinforced since." 

"There's something more going on." Cara spoke confidently. Finally, someone else who agreed with me.

"Maybe." Din emphasized the word, still having some trust in the task. "We'll find out more when we land."

The door slid open with a hiss and IG-11 stomped in with its metal hands clapped together.

"I have prepared second meal. Would you care to be served here or below."

I stood with a small smile. "We'll get out so you can-"

"I'm not hungry." Din reached out and stopped me, pulling me back to my seat. The droid left without another word with the door closing behind. "Under no circumstances does that thing leave the ship."

"You got a real thing for droids, don't you?" Cara chuckled.

"I got a real thing for _that_ droid."

"Kuiil rewired it. He fixed it." I argued, trying not to come off too aggressive.

He shook his head and focused back on the sky. "That droid was designed to kill things. I don't care how much wiring he replaced. It goes against its nature."

"Similar to doing things against the code?" I rolled my eyes and kicked back in my seat, receiving a stern tilt of the helmet from him.

"Well, it shouldn't be a long job anyway. We take out the head Imp and the rest will run like rats." She said with a smile and left us alone in the cockpit.

For some reason, I didn't think it was going to be that easy.

"Myrah." Din called out quietly. "Maybe we should talk about-"

"I'm going to eat." I interrupted quickly, jumping back up from my seat. "Uh, fly safe." I smiled and climbed down the ladder. I couldn't talk about that - us - not yet. Not right now.

* * *

I never thought that there would be a day where I would dread coming to Nevarro, but here we were. As we landed on the gray planet, I could feel a bundle of nerves start to form in my stomach.

I _shot_ Greef.

I thought I had killed him months ago and now he just stands there with his hands on his hips, acting like nothing happened. There was no way he was this forgiving, he never was in the past. This was a trap. It had to be.

"Myrah?" The soft, modulated voice spoke up as I stared out the windows of the cockpit. "Myrah, it's time to go."

"I don't think I can do this..."

"You're the strongest woman I know." He gently placed his forehead against mine. I remembered hearing about this tradition when I was part of the creed. It was a kiss of sorts amongst the Mandalorians. The simple gesture made my heart speed up but not in its normal flustered way. It was one of fear.

"You can do this."

Could I? Was I brave enough to face Greef after everything he did?

I pulled away and nodded, slapping on a determined look before we ventured into the belly of the ship to mount the blurrgs. Kuiil and Cara had already settled on theirs while Din helped me on the back of his.

The child was settled in its new, sleek pod that Kuiil had crafted. I was impressed. It was high-tech and protected him, it was perfect.

The hatch opened and we all filed out on top of the large reptilian beasts. We weren't the only ones to come prepared, it seemed. Greef had brought three other bounty hunters with him which was probably a safe choice.

"Sorry for the remote rendezvous, but things have gotten complicated since you were last here." Greef spoke with a slight chuckle. "It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided a security detail."

My grip around Din's waist tightened while I maintained a firm glare. Greef's eyes darted amongst us, I could still see the hole in his jacket where I shot him.

"I recommend the shock trooper guards the ship." He continued. "These lava fields are lousy with Jawas."

"She's coming with us." Din spoke.

Greef shifted anxiously. "But the town is now run by ex-Empire. If a Rebel Dropper is with us, they'll all get their hackles up."

"She's coming." He said, decisive and strong.

"Fine." He shouted, before settling into a calmer tone. "Fine. At least cover your tattoo. No need to flaunt it. Now, where is the little one?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, not really wanting him anywhere near the child. After years and years of putting my faith in him, I couldn't even begin to trust him near this baby.

Din tapped at his vambrace and brought forth the child's bassinet, revealing the child to him. The baby looked around with big, wide eyes as Greef approached with long strides.

"So, this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about." He pulled the child from his bed, holding him a bit away from his body. "What a precious little creature. I can see why you two didn't want to harm a hair on its wrinkled little head."

Din reached for his blaster, his hand resting calmly over the handle as Greef lowered the child back into its pod. He was just as nervous as I was.

"Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all." He placed his hands on his hips and stared back up at us.

Din closed the pram and brought it back to our side. I felt relieved to know the child was next to me once again.

"The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank then make our way into town at first light."

Din looked back at me for confirmation, which I replied with a steady nod. We rode the blurrgs while the others began the trek in the direction of town. We all had to be weary of the cracks of lava and the little splutters of it that would shoot up.

Treating a burn out here was a recipe for disaster.

By the time night had fallen, we had already set up a small campfire and began cooking up whatever we could find. I wasn't particularly hungry after eating on board the Crest, especially after watching the hunters wrangle with the animal and prod it with the stick.

We sat on opposite sides of the flame, a clear divide between the two groups. Everyone was silent, seeing as we had nothing to say to each other. This was purely business and no one had a problem with it.

"You know," I leaned over to Din, "if we weren't here to kill someone and surrounded by a bunch of other people, this would be pretty romantic."

"You have a very weird sense of romance." He whispered and traced the lines of my hand with his finger. It was subtle, but it made me smile and shiver.

 _Run_. 

I giggled quietly, brushing off the voice once again and looked over at the child's happy face as Kuiil fed it small pieces of the meat. Greef had apparently noticed it as well.

"I guess the little bugger's a carnivore." He spoke and pointed towards the delighted green creature. "Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king's ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie." He chuckled.

"Can we not talk about that?" I asked, my eyes meeting his for the first time since we landed.

His smile sunk into one of sadness as his eyes scanned my face. I could tell he wanted to say something, but couldn't quite decide what fit our situation.

"Let's go over the plan again." Din suggested. I am forever going to be grateful for his impeccable ability to change the subject.

"We'll enter the common house. We show the client the bait. We join him at the table and Mando, you kill him."

"Tell me about his reinforcements."

"They're all ex-Empire. As soon as they lose their paycheck, poof, they'll all scatter."

I scoffed. "Clones."

"What if they don't?" Din persisted.

"They will."

"That's not good enough." He growled. I grasped his hand, trying to be as low-key as possible to calm him down.

Greef sighed. "If, for argument's sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best path to alternative employment and they elect to react impulsively, then these three fine Guild Hunters, along with that battle-hardened shock trooper, will cut down anyone who bucks."

"How many will there be?" He asked as he looked down at our conjoined hands, brushing his thumb softly over my knuckles.

"No more than four." He grunted as he stood. "He travels with, at most, a Fire Team. Trust me." He paused. "Nothing can go wrong."

Believe it or not, that's when everything went wrong.


	33. Chapter 33

# 32

* * *

_Nothing can go wrong._

Sure. Famous last words.

A large, flying creature swooped down, its screech echoing through the lava fields. We all pulled out our blasters as fast as we could and started shooting at it.

Din quickly shut the child's pod, keeping it safe from both the blasters and the weird beasts. More of them started to surround us as we continued to fire. The shots combined with their screams was deafening.

"No! Let go of her!" I could barely hear Kuiil yell. "Drop her now!"

I looked over, watching as the animal easily swept one of the blurrgs off the ground. For a moment, it seemed like they were gone. I was too hopeful.

One of Greef's hunters let out a pained scream as he, too, was lifted up in the air. Another blurrg was lifted, but Cara was lucky enough to shoot it down before it flew off.

My head was spinning with everything going on and I could faintly hear a confused yell for help behind me. Din laid on the ground, pinned by one of the flying creatures. Cara and I made quick work of shooting it off, as did Din with his flamethrower that he was so fond of. At last, they flew away for what we hoped was the last time.

We rushed over to the child, holding our guns tightly in fear of them returning. Once we knew that we were safe, we checked on the child, thankful that it was left unharmed.

Din rushed to my side and cupped my face with his hands, moving it around as he checked me for any wounds.

"Did anything happen?" He asked nervously. "Are you okay?"

He was so worried, I could hear it in his voice. A few months ago, he never would have been so willingly vulnerable. Now, it was all out on display. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I tried to laugh it off but it came out more as a struggled breath. "Are you?"

"Better now." He breathed out and dropped his hands from my face.

Greef groaned in pain, gripping his arm as he laid on the ground. Whatever those beasts were must've done some serious damage. No matter the anger I felt towards him, I was still concerned. I didn't _want_ him to die.

"He's hurt badly." Kuiil said as he examined the claw marks in his skin.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He groaned. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

Cara sat beside him and drew a needle from her pack. "Hold still. They got you good." She injected the medicine in his arm, but it wasn't enough.

"How bad?" Din asked. I hid behind him, glancing anxiously as the poisoned wound.

"Bad." Cara answered simply. "The poison's spreading fast."

"So this- this is how it happens." He coughed out.

Cara rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I need another med pack! Got any other med packs? Anyone?"

"Move." I pushed past Din and Cara, dropping to my knees next to the man I once knew as a father.

"What are you doing?" Din inquired as he neared me again. 

"Something... Maybe." I shrugged and placed my hand on Greef's arm, struggling to focus my energy on the wound with all of the thoughts racing in my mind. "Come on..." I mumbled to myself.

I felt a small ease lifted off my shoulders as I worked on healing the cuts. Opening my eyes, I found the child standing next to me, his small hand resting next to mine.

"He's trying to eat me." Greef whined.

Within a matter of seconds, the wound had disappeared like it was never even there in the first place. The child fell back, the power drained from its small body for the moment. I settled back, slightly dizzy and tired, but a pair of arms caught me before I could fall.

"Myrah..." Greef whispered and watched with wide eyes as Din pulled me back to lean against his bag. 

"I suppose you won't believe me if I just say I injected him with a shit ton of bacta, will you?" I smiled weakly, trying to pull him down next to me. My efforts did nothing, but he did lower himself on the ground and pushed a strand of my hair back and out of my face.

"On Arvala... When you were helping me, was that-"

I hummed in agreement and traced my fingers over his arm, smiling to myself when his muscles tensed and flexed at the sudden touch. He went quiet, clearly confused and a bit shaken up with everything that was happening. So much for keeping the secret. 

After a while, I felt myself falling asleep. It had been a long time since I had used too much energy in the Force and it was wearing on me. So, I slept, drifting off into a peaceful sleep for a less than peaceful day awaiting me.

* * *

We woke up, as Greef had said, at the crack of dawn. It took Din quite a while to wake me up, according to Cara. I refused to keep my eyes open for even a minute. This wasn't even because of the Force usage, I just wanted to sleep. 

With only one blurrg left, the journey was more strenuous than the first and of course, I was tired. The only thing that kept me from falling asleep right there was the occasional brush of Din's hand against mine. It sent a shock through my arm and kept me going on the trip.

But more importantly, I was just looking forward to the end. Well, sort of. Something told me that the end of this mission was going to be the end of something much larger.

"You think they're having second thoughts?" Cara asked as we watched them talk quietly amongst themselves.

"Could be." Din shrugged, finally admitting that this just might be a trap. "I need your eyes."

She scoffed. "I'm watching."

We walked alongside Greef as we reached an overlook of the city. It was just as I remembered, but somehow even more disappointing. No one gathered in the market or swarmed the bar. They kept inside their homes in fear of the Imperials.

"I guess this is it." Greef nodded towards the village.

We stood in silence, wondering who would move first. That's when Greef spun around with blasters raised. All three of us pulled out our blasters, but none of his shots seemed to hit us.

In fact, his guns weren't even aimed towards us.

"There's something you should know." He spoke calmly and raised his blasters towards the sky. "The plan was to kill you and take the kid, but after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it."

I wanted to believe him. I think we all did, but we kept our blasters trained on him.

"Go on." He lowered his blasters, leaving him practically defenseless if we were to shoot. "You can gun me down here and now and it wouldn't violate the Code, but if you do, this child will never be safe."

"We'll take our chances." Cara sneered.

"The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run, but where did it get you?"

Cara glanced over to us, keeping her voice low. "This is ridiculous."

"Perhaps you should let him speak." Kuiil said, earning a sharp glare from the dropper.

"Listen, we both need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you three-"

"No." Din said firmly. I agreed wholeheartedly. 

"Let's just kill him and get outta here." Cara insisted.

We couldn't leave, but we couldn't let him take the child alone. There was only one way to do this and they weren't about to like it.

"He's right." I lowered my blaster, placing it in its rightful spot on my belt. Din followed my actions and lowered his. I truly did have him wrapped around my finger. 

Cara looked between us, unsure. "What are you two doing?"

"So long as the Imp lives, he will continue to send hunters for the child. We can't take that chance. The kid deserves to live freely without fear of dying everywhere we go." I argued. I knew what that sort of life was like. He absolutely deserved better. 

"It's a trap!"

"Bring me." Din spoke up.

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening in bewilderment.

Greef huffed. "Bring _you_?" 

"Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him and I'll kill him."

"That's a good idea..." He whispered. "Give me your blaster."

Din handed it over willingly, causing my jaw to fall slack as I stared up at him. Granted, I was defending Greef's idea but I didn't think he would take it this far.

"This is insane." Cara exclaimed, speaking my thoughts out loud.

I grasped his arm tightly, almost pleading for him not to follow through with it. "You can't actually do this."

"I have to. It's the only way." He gazed down at me, trying to pry my hand from his arm, but I kept my grip steady.

"If you're going, I'm going." I spoke firmly.

"No-"

"I'm coming with you too." Cara agreed. 

Greef shook his head. "That would make them suspicious."

"I don't care. We're coming." 

"Tell them she caught me." Din gestured towards Cara after I finally let go of his arm.

"And Myrah?"

"I stole the child with him, tell them she caught _us_." I snapped. 

Greef sighed. "Fine. Then she can bring the child."

"No. The kid goes back in the ship." 

"But without the child, none of this works!" Greef was growing frustrated with the ever-changing plans. 

"I have a plan." Din's voice was steady and affirmative. For a moment, I almost agreed with all of this. "Kuiil, ride back to the Razor Crest with the child and seal yourself in. When you're inside, engage ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors."

Kuiil moved closer to us and placed a small com in his hand. "Here's a com link. I will keep the child safe." He turned to Cara. "Don't forget to cover your stripes."

"Let's go." Din demanded, reaching for his pair of cuffs behind his back while I handed mine to Greef.

His gloved hands gently grasped my wrists and placed the cuffs on, adjusting them so they were tight enough to be believable, but not to where it hurt.

"Huh." I tilted my head and glanced up in his helmet. "Never thought the scenario would play out like this." His head snapped to mine with what I could only assume was a very angry glare. "I'm kidding!"

"Myrah." He scolded and turned to Greef for him to place on the cuffs. In a way, I wasn't kidding. I never thought that today would turn into _this_.

Once we were all settled, we journeyed our separate ways. I could see the masses of troopers around the city and my heart dropped to my stomach.

Four stormtroopers, my ass. 

"Chain code?" One of the troopers standing guard asked. 

"I have a gift for the boss." Greef pointed towards us.

"Chain code?" He asked again.

He sighed and showed them his card, allowing them to scan and analyze it. I'll give droids some credit, they never took this long.

"I'll give you twenty credits for the helmet."

Greef laughed. "Not a chance. That's going on _my_ wall."

"On your wall?" Din softly criticized. It made it hard for me to keep back a laugh, but thankfully I managed. 

"Go with it." He whispered back

We walked through the familiar alleys that were now filled with stormtroopers rather than the usual variety of passerby's that once crowded the area. 

The trip was unfortunately short. I felt like this was a mistake. We should turn around and leave, but it was too late for that. 

The doors emitted a soft hiss as they opened. Greef led us towards the creepy client. He looked stern and in a strange way, disappointed. 

"Look what I brought you." Greef spoke and gently pushed us forward. "As promised."

"What exquisite craftsmanship." He hissed and ran his fingers over the beskar armor. I shivered, grossed out by his closeness and caresses over Din's body. "It is amazing how beautiful beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans."

The client turned to me with a shallow, hmph, before directing his attention to Greef. "Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?"

"I would be obliged."

"Please sit." He murmured as we shuffled into the booth. 

I sat on the edge with Din next to me in the middle. I was comforted knowing he was so close, but I continued to fear the worst. This could still all be a trap and now we were left defenseless and handcuffed.

"It is a shame that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable. Why did Mandalore resist our expansion?"

"Probably because you were a corrupt group with nothing to offer." I finally snapped, immediately regretting the words when I felt Din kick my shin beneath the table.

"The Empire improves every system it touches." He argued. "Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside, little girl, is the world more peaceful since the revolution?"

I maintained his hardened stare with one of my own, piercing into his eyes. All I could feel was darkness. It was a powerful, overwhelming darkness that made my head pulse in ache. There was some greater plan here that none of us knew. I could sense it. 

He continued. "I see nothing but death and chaos. I would like to see the baby."

Greef nodded and clicked his tongue as he thought. "Uh...It is asleep."

"We all will be quiet." He assured. "Open the pram." 

We sat in silence, glancing between one another as we tried to communicate a new plan in silence. Luckily, one of the troopers interrupted us, sharing a secret message with the client.

"Don't think me to be rude." He stood over us, tall and terrifying. "I must take this call." 

As he meandered over to the bar, Din squirmed out of the cuffs, soon helping me out of mine as well. "Give me the blasters." He whispered to Greef and began a subtle handoff of the weapons.

"You get one shot." Greef spoke under his breath.

Cara leaned down to us, her voice a harsh whisper. "This is bad. You said four."

"Well, there are more. What can I tell you?" He shrugged in typical Greef manner.

"We need to get out of here." I hissed and placed my blaster in my holster, interrupted by a shot fired through the window of the building and through the client's chest.

I looked over at Din, his blaster lowered beneath the table. If he hadn't shot, then who did?


	34. Chapter 34

# 33

* * *

Several more shots were fired through the glass at random. We all dove to find a safe hiding spot away from the blasts. We were all safe, but the client and the stormtroopers all laid dead on the ground.

This certainly couldn't be the work of the Mandalorians, they would have relocated by now. No, this was someone else out to get us. But why their own cohorts?

Once the firing slowed down to a stop, we snuck our way closer to the gaping hole in the wall to get a better view. The smoke cleared and standing in a straight line in front of the building were a series of stormtroopers, only these ones were covered in a black armor.

Something I had yet to see before.

" _Four_ stormtroopers?" Cara ridiculed as a flurry of troopers unloaded and swarmed around the building. "This is bad."

"Kuiil?" Din asked into the small com. "Are you back to the ship yet? Are you there? Do you copy?"

"Yes." He confirmed through the link.

"Are you back to the ship yet." Din asked again.

"Not yet."

"Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We're pinned down."

I moved closer to Din, desperately grasping at his arm. "What if he doesn't-"

"Don't talk like that."

"But, if-"

A large TIE fighter landed beside the building, the air rushing through the now open window as it settled on the ground. A sick feeling grew in my stomach once the hatch released and out climbed a man clad in black armor and a cape.

It resembled the late Darth Vader, but not quite as intimidating. Nonetheless, his presence alone activated a fight or flight response in me. Somehow, I chose the secret third option: freeze. I couldn't seem to move even if I tried.

"You have something I want." He declared.

Cara looked over at us, eyes wide and full of confusion. "Who's this guy?"

"You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not." He resumed his dramatic speech.

I snatched the com from Din, my hands shaking as I spoke into it. "Kuiil, are you back yet? They know we're here and it's only a matter of time before they know where you are." There was nothing. "Kuiil?" 

"In a few moments, they will be mine." His voice was low and menacing.

"Kuiil? Kuiil, please!" I practically begged.

"They mean more to me than you will ever know."

"Are you there? Do you copy? You have to be there, please, Kuiil." My voice broke as I received no response.

I glanced up to finally get a good look at the man before us, my eyes glazing over with tears. He grinned, a sick and twisted smile.

 _No_.

It couldn't be. It _can't_ be. He was dead, he was supposed to be, at least. The final shreds of the Empire were supposed to be obliterated yet here he stood; tall and proud like he knew what I was thinking.

Cara looked around in a panic. "Is there another way out?"

"No, that's it." Greef's tone was full of disappointment and sorrow as we hid. 

"Wait." I paused. "The sewers. Are there any entrances in here?"

Greef's face scrunched up in disgust. "Sewers?"

Din nodded. "The Mandalorians have a covert down in the sewers. If we can get down there, they can help us escape."

"Yeah," Cara spoke breathlessly, "sewers are good."

"Checking for access points." He scanned the area carefully through his visor.

"What the hell are they waiting for?" Cara's anticipation was growing with every second. Honestly, mine was too.

"Probably some big gun to intimidate us." I shrugged.

Apparently I had spoken just a few seconds too soon.

Just as I opened my mouth, they began carrying in the pieces to a large, mounted gun. It was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. 

"Hold up." Her eyes widened and her voice became distant as she slumped against the wall. "They're setting up an E-Web."

That's when it clicked. For all of us, I assume, but there was something else. I was overwhelmed with a sense of déjà vu. I had been in this situation before, I had _felt_ this fear before. It was a dream - or, a vision, I guess. 

I didn't think it was possible, I didn't think it was real. This was all one big nightmare and soon, I would wake back up in Coruscant with no other worries but what I would show Din next. 

"It's over." Greef sighed. 

"I found the sewer vent." Din spoke up with a few words of hope. 

Cara's chest rose and fell faster than before, all of our anxiousness was out in the open. "Let's get the hell out of here." 

We rushed over and pulled the cushion away from the wall. The vent was bolted tightly to the wall. We couldn't loosen it no matter what we tried. 

"It's assembled!" Greef warned. "How long until that thing's cleared?"

"Let's blow it up." I breathed out with a shrug.

Din shook his head. "I'm out of charges."

"Get out of the way!" Cara urged and fired the large gun at the vent in attempt to destroy its integrity. 

Not even that could weaken it. 

"Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation."

The air had grown shallow. I couldn't breathe or think or-

"I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster."

I was going to be sick, I was sure of it. We were dead. Or, at least we were about to be.

"If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model."

And he was just going to keep going, taunting our death with his words.

"Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears."

We were facing our end and yet we were stuck, unmoving and unwilling to do anything to fight it. There had to be something we could do. We can't just stand here and do nothing. 

"I'm sure the young Jedi, Myrah Koor, could also help you in knowing the fields of soldiers that have been eliminated during the Galactic Civil War. A war that she sat by and watched while her friends were eradicated without a strong enough defense that she could have provided."

There was a sharp stinging pain in my eyes that I tried desperately to hold back. All of our secrets were laid out in front of us on display. 

"I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karge to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to law down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end."

We sat in momentary silence as the words weighed down on us. Our lives, our secrets that we kept hidden away were out in the open and no one dared to speak up about it.

Finally, Greef shouted back to the man. "What do you propose?"

He grinned. "Reasonable negotiation."

"What assurance do you offer?"

"If you're asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand." He practically hissed through his teeth.

"The assurance I give it this: I will act in my own self-interest, which at this time, involves your cooperation and benefit. I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire." He spun with the flip of his cape and left for his fighter.

I slumped against the wall, falling to the ground. Moff Gideon would pay for his crimes. I swore to that once and I will swear to it again. I would no longer live in fear of him or the Empire. 

Now I just had to figure out how to deal with the whole 'Jedi' thing.

"I say we hear him out." Greef suggested, turning to look back at us.

Cara moved back to hide behind the bar where the stormtroopers had fallen. "The minute we open that door, we're dead." 

"We're dead if we don't. At least out there, we've got a shot."

Din crouched next to me, his shadow covering my body and blocking the light that hit my face from the window. Greef and Cara continued to argue while we simply sat in a heavy, somewhat awkward silence. 

"I'm sorry." I barely managed to whisper, wanting more than anything to wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. I wanted to tell him that I was wrong for keeping a secret but that everything would be alright.

But I couldn't lie to him.

I only hoped that he wasn't aware of what a Jedi was.

"What about you, Mando?" Greef interrupted us, well, I guess there wasn't much to interrupt.

"I know who he is." He sighed and rose to his feet. "It's Moff Gideon."

"No." Cara refused. "Moff Gideon was executed for war crimes."

"It's him. He knew my name."

"So?" Greef shrugged as though it was something so simple. To us, it was, but not to him. "What does that prove?"

"Only one person has spoken that name since I was a child." His helmet shifted back to my spot on the ground as I watched them talk. 

"On Mandalore?"

"I was not born on Mandalore."

"But you're a Mandalorian." For someone so wise, I was a bit surprised that he didn't know about the secrets to the group.

Cara spoke up, surprisingly calm. "Mandalorian isn't a race."

"It's a creed." I mumbled and pulled myself up from the ground. "More of a religion or group. You don't have to be born into it, you just have to respect their ways."

"I was a foundling." Din carried on. "They raised me in the Fighting Corps. I was treated as one of their own. When I came of age, I was sworn to the Creed. The only record of my family name was in the registers of Mandalore. Moff Gideon was an ISB Officer during the purge. That's how I _know_ it's him."

"That's how he knows who we all are." Cara scoffed as she stood. 

"He says he needs us, which means the child got away safely. I was worried when the Ugnaught didn't respond, but if they'd captured the kid, we'd already be dead." 

"I wouldn't be so sure." I fiddled with the com in my hand, receiving nothing but silence. "Kuiil?" I asked into the mic. There was still nothing.

Cara hid and held her gun close to her body. "They might have jammed the link."

The com broke through with a static-y giggle, a happy, baby giggle, followed by a familiar robotic voice. 

"Kuiil has been terminated."

Din ripped the com link from my hand, his voice harsh as he spoke. "What did you do?"

"I am fulfilling my base function."

"Which is?"

"To nurse and protect."

He grumbled and stuffed the communicator in his belt, replacing it for his blaster in his hand. 

"Din-" I tried.

"Not now." He snapped. I felt a bit broken at the tone of his voice, but held my head high. 

Blaster fire filled the city, I could hear its sound echo off the walls as it slowly approached. A speeder bike flew by, carrying IG-11 and the child along with it.

It jumped from the bike and began firing freely at the surrounding stormtroopers while protecting the child. Din looked over to Cara, holding his blaster high as he prepared himself. 

"Cover us."

She threw herself onto the bar while we moved towards the door. Din stood still for a moment, just waiting to press the button to open the door.

"Be careful." He whispered. " _Please_." 

He didn't give me even a moment to respond before the door slid open. Without casting them a glance, he pushed down the barrel of the trooper's gun and fired a shot to his head. His foot landed firmly against another's chest and knocked him back while he shot down another.

Greef pushed past me while I stood still for another second, taking it all in before diving head first like _some_ people. The corners of my mouth twitched into a small grin despite my force against it. I would never get over watching him fight. He moved with grace and expertise in every battle.

In a way, I envied him. In another way, I knew it was much more than that. An appreciation, I suppose. 

I stepped in and helped with the fight, using the staff at my hip to whack the troopers that gathered around the three of us. I managed to land a solid hit on one with my hand held out towards another. It dropped its weapon to the ground and choked on the air that was squeezed from its throat before I dropped its lifeless body back to the ground.

Now that it was out in the open, I saw no harm in using a bit of the Force to help if needed. That's what it was there for, right? 

In the midst of tossing one of them against the stone wall, I heard the rapid fire of the E-Web behind me. Instantly, I ducked, fully expecting to feel its powerful blast, but once I saw Din standing behind the gun, I knew it would never come. 

I continued to assist in the fight, taking down any leftover wanderers that I could find. It still felt like there were far too many. We were severely outnumbered, but of course, we didn't know unless we fought. Besides, it never deterred us before. 

A shot echoed off of the beskar armor, my eyes quickly darting to its origin where Moff Gideon stood. He spun around and aimed the large machine towards him, but it seemed like Gideon's mind was elsewhere.

"Din!" I shouted. "Look out!"

It was too late. I already felt the tension in my head as the ringing of the explosion filled my ears. He was tossed back from the blast, receiving a nasty blow to the head on his way towards the ground.

"NO!" I screamed and ran to him as fast as I could, struggling to even lift his upper body off the ground. "Cara! Greef! Please!" I cried out. 

Cara rushed over and hauled him inside while we all slowly entered after her, making sure the door would lock behind us. 

"Stay with me, buddy." She grunted as she set him down, hiding him behind the knocked over tables. "We're gonna get you out of here."

I collapsed next to him, my fingers pushing past the fabric that surrounded him to search for his pulse. My heart was racing, all of my thoughts were clouded by _him_.

He had to be safe, he had to be fine. We have been through worse, he would make it through this. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I struggled to keep my breathing steady. It felt like my lungs were collapsing in on themselves.

_Please._

_Please be okay._


	35. Chapter 35

# 34

* * *

"Din? Din, stay with me, please." I pleaded. My whole body was trembling as my fingers brushed over the sides of his helmet, almost afraid to touch it. I didn't want to hurt him.

The IG's laser flickered and hissed as it carved away at the gate. Greef and Cara stood guard, armed and ready to fire at anyone who dared to step through the door. But to me, I felt like I was in my own world, my own world that was crumbling around me. 

"I'm not gonna make it. You need to go." He spoke, his voice hoarse and strained. 

"No, no- You shut up. We're not leaving without you. We need you- I- _I_ need you." I pulled my hand back, my eyes moving to the blood that now coated it. "I need to take the helmet off."

"No." His hands weakly grasped my wrists as I tried to lift the helm, pulling them back down. 

"Stop it!" I shouted, tears brimming my eyes, threatening to fall at any second. "Just, stop! I can help you, you know I can."

"Make sure the child is safe." He ignored me. "T-Take him to the covert." He tugged off a thin leather necklace that donned the Mandalorian symbol. "You know they'll help you."

He lifted the necklace over my head, letting it fall loosely around my neck. His breathing grew shaky and struggled. I just couldn't leave him. 

"Din, you-you know I can't. We can get you out, just let me help you. I-I can close my eyes if I have to-" I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the tears that were swelling to drip down my face.

His hand wiped away the tears while he coughed a small chuckle. "Don't do that... I-I want to see your eyes before you leave."

"And you think I don't want to see yours?" My eyes shot open, red and strained as the tears continued to pour. "You don't think I want to tear that helmet off and-"

"Myrah..." He whispered and dropped his hands from my face. "Don't make this more difficult." 

Flames burst through the window and began filling the room. The warmth surrounded us and I nearly had to throw myself on top of Din to avoid the fire touching my face. His hand loosely held my head against his, shielding me from the furious heat.

"You can escape." He coughed once the flames died down. "Let me have a warriors death."

"That's not happening and you know it. I'm sticking with you till the end." The droplets of tears landed on his helmet and left small, clean paths amongst the dirt. 

"This is the Way." He said breathlessly.

Another burst of fire came through the door, this time followed by a stormtrooper in red and white. My breath caught in my throat as Din squeezed my hand. I could reach out, I could stop this, I could help.

But I couldn't focus enough to do anything. 

The flames shot towards us, all we could do was wait for the fire to envelop us in its warm embrace. When I looked up, I saw a wall of brilliant orange and yellow lights. The child stood in front of it with outstretched arms and with one flick, the fire shot back at the trooper in a strong blast. 

"Come on!" Greef shouted as the droid kicked in the passage to the sewers. "It's open, let's go!"

Din's hand cupped my face. His touch was gentle and delicate; _loving_. "Go." He urged in a whisper. "You have to go."

"Now!" Greef continued. 

The IG unit handed the child over to Cara as she stood and moved towards the entrance. 

"I will stay with the Mandalorian." He spoke with the monotonous tone. Cara made him swear to bring him and tried to pull me from my spot, but I refused.

"No." I snapped and pushed her hands off of me. "I'm not leaving. I'll die here if I have to but I am not leaving him behind right now."

Cara sighed and hooked the child over her arm. She pulled me up against my will and dragged me down the vent while I kicked and screamed. I couldn't leave him like this, I couldn't 

"Myrah- Myrah, stop this!" Cara shouted as she dropped me to the ground. "He'll catch up."

"You don't understand!" I cried out and scampered to my feet. "I can't risk that, I can't risk any of this. I don't have a lot of good things going for me and I'll be damned if I leave one of them behind to _die_."

She stepped towards me with an outstretched hand that I quickly pulled away from, maintaining my hardened glare while the tears dribbled down my face.

"I'm going back. You can try to stop me all you want, but I'm going."

Her eyes softened. "You love him?" She whispered.

"Something like that." I whimpered and turned away. "I'll catch up... I promise." 

I rushed back up to the fiery room. The smoke caught in my lungs, thrusting me into a coughing fit. I could feel Din's eyes on me as I entered, making a dramatic entrance with my struggled breathing.

"You were supposed to go." He snapped.

"I know, I know." I spoke and moved closer to the droid and him. "Listen, I-" I stopped and glanced at the droid, who's hand was latched onto the brim of his helm. 

He was going to let it help?

I turned my back towards them and shut my eyes tight. I struggled to catch my breath with the mix of smoke and fear filling my lungs. There was a soft click and hiss of the helmet being pulled off. The sound always made me nervous.

"I won't look at you, I promise. I-I just need to say something and I need you to be quiet while I say it." I took a moment of hesitation, just to see if he would interrupt. To my surprise, he didn't.

"You mean- You mean so much to me, Din. I know that maybe I'm being soft and childish, I don't care. I would trade all the stars in the sky if it meant that my last moments are spent here with you." I coughed, and covered my mouth, muffling my voice but keeping out small bits of smoke.

"And I mean it. What you said on Arvala, I- I want that. I really do. I know that I didn't tell you everything and-and maybe I still don't tell you everything...I'm sorry. I was scared that maybe you- you wouldn't like me if you knew what I was and I couldn't live with that. Din, I-"

"Myrah." He interjected. Kriff, I go weak for his unconcealed voice every time. 

"No, this needs to be said."

"Myrah, are your eyes closed?" He struggled to speak.

"Yes, but I don't see why you have to interrupt my heartfelt-"

For one of the first times ever, I wasn't mad with him interrupting me. He weakly pulled me to him and pressed his lips to mine in a passionate, and excuse the pun, heated kiss. It was everything I remembered and everything I wanted to say compacted into one movement.

The coppery taste wasn't exactly ideal, but he was. He was everything that I wasn't and yet something still pulled me away from him. I hated that voice. I wished it would go away but it was still there, louder than ever. 

"Let's get out of here alive then." He mumbled against my lips before pulling me back in, his hand wrapping around to hold my neck in place. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as he pressed a final, chaste kiss to my lips and soon, I heard the helmet snap back into place. 

My eyes fluttered open, staring into the black glass of the helmet. We could have sat there for hours without anyone bothering us. Yes, we were surrounded by deadly flames ready to strike at any moment, but it was just us. No one else, no problems, no-

"I do believe that it is time to go." The droid spoke up, reminding us of its presence.

"Right." I chuckled bashfully, my cheeks flushed and my lips still tingled from the kiss. 

Din's hand rose and gently brushed against my cheek as he whispered, "I meant what I said too."

We crawled down the vent, the droid and I helping Din along as we ventured further. Using the light on his helmet, we were able to see where we were going in the dim halls. I never understood why the Mandalorians chose to hide in such a dark and gloomy space. It was depressing.

We finally came across Greef and Cara, both looked incredibly relieved to find us all still alive. Din shifted off the robot, letting his weight rest on me as he continued to struggle to regain his strength. 

It was a bit difficult for me, but I wasn't going to complain. Cara offered to help, but I wanted to stay near him. Even if he was slightly heavier to help along than I expected, his company was enough to get me to push through it. I wanted to get enough time with him as I could.

"Do you know which way to go?" Greef asked as we met a split in the path. 

"No." Din grunted. "I don't know these tunnels. I've only entered from the bazaar. 

"I do." I spoke up, receiving a questionable head tilt from him. "I got bored sometimes, I liked to wander. Take a left." 

Greef sighed and shook his head. "Anything else I don't know about you?"

"I don't know. Are you actually going to sit and take the time to learn?" 

He sighed. "Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it'll lead us up to the plains where the river flows." He ignored my accusation, but I expected nothing less. 

Din huffed. "And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship. We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety."

"Ugh, this place is a maze." Cara complained as we took another left. 

"Stop." Din pulled his arm from my shoulders. I frowned at the lack of warmth wrapped around them, but was grateful for the literal weight lifted off. "I can stand."

"The bacta infusion is working." The IG spoke up.

We took yet another left, followed by a couple more turns until we met a pile of Mandalorian helmets. Then there was the sick feeling again. Except this time, it was paired with the tears that rose quickly to my eyes. 

"No..." My voice broke. 

Din kneeled silently in front of the pile, lifting up one of the helms. These were our friends, our _family_. And they were gone. 

"We should go." Cara whispered quietly to the two of us.

I felt a fury build up in me, my blood boiling and an angry red flush rose to my face. I spun around and shoved Greef back into the wall. He winced at the pain of his head hitting the concrete.

"Did you do this?!"

"What?" 

"When we left, did you stick a fob on all of them? Were you really that desperate?"

"No, Myrah-"

I pulled my blaster from its holster and aimed the gun to his head, already loaded. "Don't lie to me." I hissed through my teeth. 

"It was not his fault." A calm, feminine voice broke through the tension. "We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the covert."

The armorer grabbed a chest plate that laid amongst the pile, pacing her way around. "The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter." She resumed. "This is what resulted."

"Did any survive?" Din's question was quiet, fearing the answer she would give.

"I hope so. Some may have escaped off-world."

"Come with us."

"No." She replied simply. "I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains." She loaded the plate into a small cart and pushed it into the armory without another word, leaving us intrigued and frankly, a bit lost. 

Maybe we had just a bit more time to spare.


	36. Chapter 36

# 35

* * *

The armorer worked diligently on melting down the beskar armor, the pieces that the Mandalorians had worked their whole lives to receive. It turned to liquid like it was nothing. The stories and battles it had seen were forgotten, never to be heard of again.

"Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction." She inquired as she shifted her attention towards us.

Din shuffled closer to the droid that held the child in a pack on its chest. His legs were still weak from the hit, but he was recovering faster than normal with the bacta.

"This is the one." He said, gesturing towards the green child.

"This is the one that you hunted, then saved?" She spoke with a joking tone. 

"Yes. The one that saved me as well."

"From the mudhorn?" Her voice lifted with curiosity.

He looked from me to the child then back to the armorer. "Yes."

"It looks helpless."

I squeezed past Din to face the armorer, standing tall despite how little I felt. "It's a bit tired right now, but it is far from helpless. It- It has the Force." I whispered the final part. Such power was a sensitive topic amongst the Mandalorians despite me having a connection with both of them.

"Ah... So, it is like you." She directed her attention back to the melting pot of metal. 

"How do you know about that?" Din took a small step forward, his head tilted in confusion as he questioned whether everyone knew about such things.

"The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore The Great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such powers... Like Myrah here."

"Jedi..." He whispered faintly. "So they are enemies?"

"No." She sort of chuckled and shook her head. "Their kind were enemies, but _they_ are not."

"What is it?" He asked about the baby.

She neared a large cabinet, opening it with the touch of a button. "It is a foundling. By Creed, it is in your care."

He scoffed. "You wish me to train this thing?"

"It is too weak. It would die. Unless Myrah deems herself capable of training it, you must reunite it with its own kind."

"Where?"

"This, you must determine."

I huffed out a laugh and crossed my arms over my chest. "You expect him to go out and search the entire galaxy for another one of these things? Din can't go anywhere near them without being a threat."

"This is the Way." She answered simply. "Isn't that a code that _you_ once followed, Myrah Koor?"

"Hey." Cara came towards us after exploring the small cave. "These tunnels will be lousy with Imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan."

"If you follow the descending tunnel, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream toward the lava flats."

"I think we should go." Greef proposed. 

"I'm staying." Din stated firmly. 

My head snapped towards him, both of my hands immediately grasping his. "What are you thinking?"

"I need to help her and I need to heal."

"You must go." She must have been growing tired of our bickering. "A foundling is in your care. By Creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, _you_ are as its father." She paused as we looked towards the cooing baby. "This is the Way."

She turned towards us, holding a crafted piece of metal in front of her. "You have earned your signet." With careful precision, she welded on the mudhorn symbol onto his pauldron. "You are a clan of two-" She stopped and glanced over to me. "Or three."

"Thank you." Din's voice was sincere. "I will wear this with honor."

A muffled explosion and smoke rose from around the corner. They were coming.

"IG, please guard the outer hallway." The armorer demanded. "A scouting party draws near... I have one more gift for your journey. Have you trained in the Rising Phoenix?"

Din nodded. "When I was a boy. Yes."

"Then this will make you complete." She turned, holding a jetpack in her hands. 

"Thank you." He said again.

I whistled and leaned against the central table. "You in a jetpack? _That's_ sexy."

"Myrah." Both Din and the armorer snapped, scolding me for my less than subtle words. It was like being a child all over again.

"When you have healed," she continued, trying to move past my comment, "you will begin your drills. Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands."

"I understand."

Blaster fire echoed through the tunnels, followed by the bright red light of the guns. We reached for our blasters during the moment of silence that fell over, but they were lowered as soon as IG came back into our line of sight. 

"You are protected." It declared. 

"More will come. You must go."

"Come with us." Din offered again. 

"My place is here. Restock your munitions." Din took off towards the table while she stalked towards the droid. "IG, carry this for Din Djarin until he is well enough to wear it. Now, go. Down to the river and across the plains." 

Cara, Greef, and the IG left the room while Din and I lingered a bit behind. "Be safe on your journey." She spoke to him. He said a final thank you and grabbed his blaster before following the others. "Myrah... You be careful. You know how-"

"I know. I'll play it safe... But you have to as well." I smiled and nudged her with my elbow in a playful manner.

"No. I wanted to check on _this_." She gestured towards the heavy hilt on my hip. 

I grabbed the weapon carefully, my fingers brushing over the gentle engravings and hovering over the small button. With two small clicks to the button, a light orange light grew from both ends, similar to its alternative staff form. I could feel my lips twitch into a smile just by gazing at it. 

"Do they know?"

"Sort of. It's fine for now, though." I tucked the handle into my belt before forcing her into a quick hug. "Thank you for everything." I whispered and caught up to the group. I knew the sincerity went both ways.

"This is the lava river." Greef pointed out as we emerged from the drab hall. 

The river was long and the heat that radiated from it brought beads of sweat to my face. I could see the steam that rose from the magma. The fiery orange flow of the river was threatening but inviting. It was beautiful and dangerous, the worst combination of them all.

"The ferry droid is fried." 

"Yeah, but if we push the boat out, we can get it to float downstream." 

I shrugged and glanced over at Cara. "Why don't we just shoot at it?"

"That'll never work." Greef brushed me off. "Come on." He insisted.

"Looks old." Din seemed questionable of his idea. "Will it take the heat?"

"You got a better idea?" 

He sighed. "Guess not."

Greef and Din struggled against the boat, working to push it away from the dock. He kicked it in frustration, stomping away from it. I had to hide the snort that came up from their failed attempt.

"Come on! What're you doing?" Greef groaned.

"Let's try this." Din grabbed a long, metal pole and tried to use it to carve away at the crusted edge. 

Cara sighed and pulled her gun over her shoulder. "You guys mind getting out of the way?" They stepped back as she fired along the edge, breaking the boat away from the platform. 

As Greef and Cara loaded into the boat, I grabbed Din's arm and pulled him over. My finger landed hard against his chest plate, making a small clink as it hit. 

"Don't underestimate my ideas." 

His hand wrapped around my own, his thumb moving tenderly over my hand. "Trust me, I won't."

"Get in, lovebirds. We don't have time to lollygag." Cara joked with a smile as she looked back at us. I laughed and hopped into the small boat with the others.

"Watch your feet." The IG advised. "It's molten lava."

"No kidding." Cara huffed.

There was a soft beeping and whirring that frightened us. We all spun with blasters raised towards the sound. The ferry droid pulled itself from the cracks and stood, holding its paddle in its mechanical hands.

"I don't suppose anybody here speaks droid?" Din asked.

I looked to him with a blank expression and a head tilt that said 'you've got to be kidding me.' Especially when there was a droid standing right next to us. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not at this point.

"I believe he is asking where we would like to go." IG pointed out.

"Down river." Greef nodded. "To the lava flat."

The droid chirped and began rowing that way. It was quite a long ride, lava rivers always seem to have a slow current. After a while, we could finally see a soft, white light at the end; the exit. We were home free.

"That's it. We're free!" Greef cheered.

"No." Din's voice was soft and disappointed. "No, we're not. Stormtroopers. They're flanking the mouth of the tunnel. It looks like an entire platoon. They must know we're coming."

"Stop the boat." Cara demanded, but the droid kept rowing. "Hey, Droid, I said stop the boat. Hey! I'm talking to you. I said stop!" Her anger grew as she blasted the head of the droid off. 

Greef glanced around anxiously. "We're still moving." 

"Looks like we fight." Cara's anger softened into fear. 

"We can't _fight_ them. We're outnumbered. By a lot." I growled.

"Well, then what do you suggest? 'Cause I can't surrender." 

"They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child." The IG spoke up from its spot. "This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape."

Din chuckled softly. "You don't have that kind of firepower, pal. You wouldn't even get to daylight."

"That is not my objective." It spoke, receiving a quick turn of heads from all of us. 

"We're getting close." Cara warned. "Saddle up."

"Cara, we _can't_." I hissed.

"I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct."

"What're you talking about?" Din spoke with a harsh whisper. 

"I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed."

Greef was growing more irritated by the second. "Are we gonna keep talking, or get out of here?"

"I can no longer carry this for you." The droid spoke and rested the jetpack down on the boat. "Nor can I watch over the child." It passed the packed away child to Din, setting him in his arms.

"Wait. You can't self-destruct. Your base command is to watch the child. That supersedes your manufacturer's protocol, right?" He paused. "Right?"

"This is correct."

"Good. Now, grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out." He demanded.

"Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured. The child will be lost. Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved, in which I survive."

Din's tone softened. "Listen, you're not going anywhere. We need you. Let's just come up with a-"

"Please tell me the child will be safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command."

"But you'll be destroyed." 

"And you will live, and I will have served my purpose."

"No. We need you." Din spoke in a saddened, pained whisper. 

"There is nothing to be sad about. I have never been alive."

"I'm not...sad."

"Yes you are. I'm a nurse droid. I've analyzed your voice."

It gently pet the child's ear and stepped into the burning lava. It marched through faster than the boat was moving, reaching the exit to the tunnel where the stormtroopers gathered.

Din grasped my hand tightly, threading his fingers between mine and squeezing it as though it would be the last time. 

"It's going to be alright. IG is giving us a chance to escape." I mumbled and raised our joined hands to my lips, placing a soft kiss against the leather.

"I know." 

We could faintly hear the droid's final words before he self-destructed. Din's grip tightened as the light reflected off his helm. Without speaking a single word, I knew what he was thinking.

IG's sacrifice would not be in vain. 


	37. Chapter 37

# 36

* * *

Stormtroopers fallen bodies decorated the landing with small flames surrounding them. It was a horrid scene, one I hadn't witnessed since the Galactic Civil War. How could the Empire have grown so strong even after it's elimination? Darth Vader was _dead_. 

Doesn't that mean that the Empire should be too?

Granted, I guess I was still running from it five years after its fall. People out there continued to support the Empire, support the fall of the Republic and with that, me. I'd run from the Empire once but if it continued to grow, I wasn't sure I could outrun them again.

Maybe if I stood _with_ the New Republic, I could be safe. 

A soft whirring came overhead as a TIE fighter flew near. Apparently we weren't as free as we thought. 

"Moff Gideon." I hissed. 

We all fired at the ship to no avail. Our measly little blasters did nothing against the protective barrier that surrounded him. He was a coward for not facing us head-on. I guess he knew better than to take all of us on his own. 

"He missed!" Greef exclaimed, shocked at the failed attempts.

"He won't next time." Din warned. 

Cara lowered her weapon back to her side. "Our blasters are useless against him."

I scoffed. "No shit."

"Hey." Greef caught our attention. "You and the baby do the magic hand thing. Come on, baby! Do the magic hand thing." He said as he waved his hands around. 

It only cooed and waved back at him.

"We need him closer to do that." I said as I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure that the Force could beat him anyway.

"Then I'm out of ideas." He huffed.

Din glanced back at the jetpack on the ground. I could hear the bad idea from miles away. "I'm not."

"Oh, no you don't, buddy." I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away from it. "I'm not about to lose you again, okay?"

He sighed and reached past me for the pack anyway. "I'll come back." He shrugged and placed it on his back seamlessly. "You didn't lose me the first time anyway."

"You're not healed! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Have a little faith." He said with a smirk evident in his voice as he shot himself up in the air. He was a horrible listener. I swear he put himself in more dangerous situations than I did. 

My breath stuck in my throat as I saw him attach to the TIE fighter. After that, I couldn't bring myself to watch.

"So..." Greef spoke up in the silence as we looked away from whatever might be happening in the sky. "You and Mando. What's uh- What's happening there?"

"Something we would all like to know." Cara grinned with her eyebrows wiggling suggestively. 

"I don't see how it is any of your concern. Both of you!" I huffed.

Cara shrugged and slung her gun across her back. "You two just seem _very_ cozy with each other."

Greef gasped. "Myrah, have you-"

"Oh my Kriff, guys! Shut up! He's literally about to die and you're worried about what my relationship status is?!" I shouted, exasperated with their nagging questions. 

"Something to take your mind off the situation at hand." Cara snickered and punched my shoulder. 

"I certainly never expected it." Greef shrugged. "You used to hate him."

"Well..." I let out an exasperated sigh. It had been a long day. "He's not too bad."

I glanced back up at the sky, watching as Din fumbled to the ground while the TIE fighter fell to the rocky terrain with an explosion. He certainly struggled on his way down, but he finally made it without injuring himself too badly.

I ran over and wrapped my arms tight around him, squeezing him tightly until he let out a slightly pained groan. "You cocky jerk." I mumbled.

"Stuck-up psychopath." He chuckled and pulled back, his thumb brushing my cheek with his soft touch. 

"That was impressive, Mando." Greef beamed as he and Cara came closer. "Very impressive. It looks like your Guild rates have just gone up."

"Any more stormtroopers?" He asked. 

"I think we cleaned up the town." Cara smiled and looked around the deserted area. "I'm thinking of staying around just to be sure."

"Wait." I snorted. "You're staying _here_?"

"Well, why not?" Greef frowned at my attitude. "Nevarro is a very fine planet. And now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it's very respectable again."

"As a bounty hunter hive?" Din spoke with the same sarcasm that I had.

"Some of my favorite people are bounty hunters. And perhaps, this specimen of soldier might consider joining our ranks." 

"Yeah." Cara chortled. "I've got some clerical concerns regarding my chain code."

"And if you would agree to become my enforcer, clerical concerns would be the least of your worries. But you, my friends, you will be welcome back into the Guild with open arms. So, go off, enjoy yourselves. And when you're ready to return, you'll have the pick of all quarries."

The child giggled as Din pulled him up in his arms. "I'm afraid we have more pressing matters at hand. At least, if Myrah still wants to join me."

Another mission for who knows how long. My mouth went dry. That wasn't what I wanted, was it? Then again, I apparently had another quest for myself. But did I want to leave Din and the child behind? No.

_You know where to go. Follow your heart._

The words echoed through my mind. The voice was familiar but I couldn't quite place it. It was so gentle and compassionate, I couldn't say no to it.

It seemed as though I had no choice. 

What did it mean, 'follow your heart?' I wanted to stay with these two, I know I did. Right? A whisper told me otherwise. The Force, maybe? Was I supposed to follow that energy? It's always called out to me, but never like this. 

"There is no place in the galaxy I would rather be." I lied with a smile. 

Cara rubbed the baby's ear, earning a gurgle. "Take care of this little one."

"Or maybe," Greef shrugged and placed his hands on his belt, "it'll take care of you."

I said a quick goodbye to the two before Din pulled me back with his arm wrapped around my waist. We took off towards the sky, the wind hitting my face and sending my hair flying behind me. 

Not far from the ship, we spotted Kuiil's lifeless body. War does this, I wanted to say. _This_ is what war feels like. I thought I should cry, but nothing came up.

"We can't leave him like this." I whispered as we landed on the ground. 

We worked for a while, building a small gravesite for the Ugnaught who gave his life to save the child. He hadn't asked for this. He wanted to continue his peaceful life on Arvala-7 and we ripped him from it without knowing the consequences. 

The guilt was almost too much. A part of me wanted to stay here. Not on Nevarro, but with the grave. We owed him so much and would never be able to give it to him. 

A war was brewing once again. One bigger than before. I didn't know if I wanted to stick around to see any more losses. 

I helped Din store away the jetpack before we climbed into the cockpit. He started the engine and prepared the ship for who knows where at this point. I had a different goal than him now. I needed to find what was calling out to me. 

Or who.

Once we reached the stars, he relaxed back in his seat and slowly spun around to face me. I gave him a nervous smile and leaned forward in my seat. The necklace he placed around my neck dangled in the air between us.

He held the pendant in his hand, his fingers grazing against my collarbone so softly that I found myself holding my breath. 

"I never thought I'd see this again... I-" He stumbled on his words. "I never thought I'd see you again." 

"Din..."

"I want you to hold onto that for me." His voice wavered. "Where should we go first?"

"Din, I have to go." 

I finally forced out the words I was dreading to speak. Part of me wanted to stay with them, but a bigger part of me was searching for something else. The voice inside my mind was screaming now, forcing me to find whatever it is it's looking for. 

Maybe a home?

Home. What does that even mean anymore?

Being with Din and the child felt like home. It was my family. But I had another family, too, and they had been waiting nine years to have me back. Didn't I owe that to them? Was I supposed to return to them?

"What do you mean? I thought that-"

"I need to go back to Coruscant."

His hands grasped mine, pulling me to my feet. "We can do that together."

" _No._ Din, we can't." I whined and ripped my hands from his, feeling the hot pain at my eyes once again. "Something is missing, I-I don't know what it is but I need time to find it."

"What happened to... whatever this is?"

"Exactly! What is _this_?" I questioned. He fumbled on an answer, unable to conjure up any words that fit. "I lost something on Coruscant. A part of me, maybe, I don't know. I just can't run right now. Please understand that."

"You said you wanted to stay." He whispered before slumping into a silence. No matter what I said, he refused to acknowledge me. He only sat down, not even casting me so much as a glance while he directed the ship towards Coruscant. 

Perhaps it was better for me to leave. Din wouldn't have to worry about me, only the child and finding its family. I would only bring along more stress. Even if Moff Gideon is truly gone, I doubt the Imperial sympathizers are. There will always be someone after me. 

The ship landed smoothly onto the planet. I could see the towering buildings out the window and a part of me was excited. The other part of me dreaded leaving these two behind. I just had to tell myself that they were better off. 

"Do you have to go?" 

"I do. I have to figure out this problem but as soon as I have, I-" I stopped myself, taking a breath before placing a small comms next to him. "I will contact you as soon as I have figured all of this out. You call me if you need me, okay? That's if you absolutely _need_ me."

He nodded and grabbed the comms, staring down at the small piece in his hand. "I will."

"It isn't goodbye." I placed a soft kiss to the top of his helmet, my hands gently rubbing his shoulders. "You mean more to me than you'll ever know."

He sighed and relaxed against my hands. "Myrah, I-"

I shushed him quickly. I was scared that he would say something dangerous, something that would keep me here next to him despite the furious voice in my head. 

"Keep him safe, okay? Don't cause any more messes, I know you're great at that. Just stay alive." My lip quivered at my own words. "Please." 

"I will." 

I reached for the necklace that sat on my chest, ready to tear it from my body until Din's hands stopped me. He had spun around, grasping my wrists to keep me from returning the treasured jewelry. 

"I told you to keep it."

"But it-"

"It's yours now." He cleared his throat and tore his hands from my wrists. "I guess you should be off."

"I guess so." I tried to smile while I gathered my things. Din didn't even move from his seat. "Call me if it's an emergency." I shouted back to him before I descended down the ramp. 

The city glowed before me, practically calling my name. I made the right choice, right?

_Welcome home, Myrah._


End file.
